Deception
by Pen to Paper Writer
Summary: Kate was so close to finding LOCSTAT. But after another dead end, all she still had now was nothing. She thought that getting justice for her AG team was the right thing to do. After 3 years it only left her alone and divorced. That was until she made a startling discovery...
1. Chapter 1

Rick looks at the half emptied bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue. It was a gift from his ex-wife about 2 years ago when he and Kate got married. Talk about ironic. He lifts the tumbler with the remaining whiskey in the glass to his mouth and swallows the rest down. Then he places the glass on the desk and refills it.

His P.I. firm has had some success of late. He and Alexis had closed a high profile jewelry theft and on top of the fee they charged, they were entitled to a partial recovery fee. Hey, 20% is nothing to sneeze at! Then they were contracted to find a missing boy. The parents were so distraught. They had tried every outlet they could think of and Rick was their last hope. It had taken 3 weeks to find him only after the NYPD/FBI's joint screw up and lack of interest after they ran out of leads. They were able to find clues that involved the fathers ex-partners. They had held his son for cash. They wanted to be paid. When Rick had told the parents, they went to the FBI and told them what Rick had uncovered. The three partners were arrested in an early morning raid on a house in Queens. The boy was returned home safe and sound.

And after yesterday's raid and the case closed, paperwork filed, Alexis had gone back to her apartment. She and Haley have become close in the last couple of months. And for this he is grateful. He does, however, think that she had rushed into her decision to leave NYU to work here at the firm. Sure she is an asset, but an education is important also. Maybe tomorrow he will sit down and talk with her again. Maybe make her see that it's not all rainbows and lollypops.

He gazes at the legal manilla envelope that sits on his desk directly in the center. It has been there since this morning's mail delivery and he knows exactly who it came from. It mocks him. He just has not had the balls to actually open it up and read the contents inside. He flips the envelope over and squeezes the little silver clasp together and slides the letter opener to cut open the 1" clear plastic tape that seals the envelope shut. He removes the paperwork that he hopes is only just a counter proposal on her part. He just stares at the signed papers he holds in his hands. This was what he was afraid of. He was hoping that she would see that he was serious about a trial separation. She did counter his motion alright, she filed for a divorce. He read her wrong. He looks one last time at the signature before returning the paperwork back to the envelope. Yes, it's her handwriting.

So the third one comes to an end he thinks to himself. At least this one had lasted just a little longer than his previous one. He notes the date for his hearing for the dissolution of marriage. It's set for two weeks from today. 9 am at the courthouse. He pencils it in into his day planner and finishes off the last sip of whiskey in his glass. The hearing comes and goes. She never shows. Work most likely he thinks to himself. He and his attorney appear before the judge and since she or her attorney are not present he is granted the divorce. He, of course, sets up an account so that she will be well taken of for the rest of her life. It's the least he can do.

Three years have passed and Kate is still where she was three and a half years ago. Nowhere. Well, that's not totally true. She had lost the man she was in love with for the last ten years. Deciding that he would be safer, she one upped his offer for a trial separation and filed for divorce. She never thought he would actually agree to it. That was the reason she was a no show in court. She thought that if he saw that she did not show up he would change his mind. She was wrong. What she did not know is that when the opposing party fails to show the defendant is awarded the legal decision they were seeking. How did things go from bad to worse? Some day soon she hopes that they can pick up from where they left off. Maybe start fresh again?

But still she is no closer to finding out how Bracken's invisible backer had slipped through her fingers more times than she can count. She had been close too. She almost had him in St. Louis. But the information that Vikram had uncovered soon dried up after she hopped on a flight to St. Louis. She was just spinning her wheels. She had been working with Hunt and Rita, but now they decided that working with her was not such a good idea after all. She thought to herself that maybe it was the way she was following leads that they did not like? Whatever it was they did not like about her, they ended their partnership. She was now on her own.

She has been living in an SRO for the last 4 months. She is close once again and she can feel it. She hopes that this is the one lead that will finally catch this prick. It's been way too long in coming. She looks through the binoculars once again. She sits up straighter in the front seat of the car and she is surprised at what she thinks she sees. She is not too sure about the male but she thinks that the woman could be her friend, well she still would describe her as a friend, she's not so sure that Lanie would still be her friend after the divorce. She watched as they both walked to a non-descriptive mid-sized car. They got in and left. Her eyes reacquired the target and once again she has slumped into the seat watching the front door of the room 23 at the Maple Shade hotel. Hours pass by and she needs intel. So she exits her car and eyes the room she has been watching. It was hours ago but she caught a lingering whiff of a familiar cologne. Forgetting what she had intended to do, the smell brought her back to her ex-husband. How she missed his scent...wait a sec tall man, Lanie, a pay by the hour motel, noooo Rick.

 **AN: This has been on my hard drive since season 8 episode 2. Not too sure where this will go, if anywhere. Please drop me a review or PM if it should continue. I am not sure when an update will be forthcoming, because I have so many open stories to finish.**

 **P2P**


	2. Chapter 2

2

 _Flashback..._

She had the time to consider that she was no longer married. Her divorce had been granted. She really missed him. It would take a lot of work to get her personal life somewhat in order. She needed to retrieve her belongings from the loft, find a new apartment and finally come to the realization that she lost him. That would be the hardest hurdle to overcome. Her professional life was the another problem she would hope would work itself out. Other than the meetings at 1PP and the added paperwork for two divisions her job was manageable. At times, it was like she was still a detective. Because she went rouge in her quest to find LOCSTAT when she was promoted to Captain she had been put on a short leash by the top brass. It was only now starting to loosen. She could see that the boys were hit hardest by her divorce. They were in love with the idea that she and Rick had beaten the odds, but now that it fell to pieces she was not so sure if they still understand how it went all so wrong. Lanie on the other hand just about disowned her. There were girls nights she had been invited out to but Kate could not face her after the way she treated her. Lanie kept bring up the fact that she was keeping something from her. One night when they actually did get together and Kate just about had enough of Lanie's bullshit. So Kate called it her on it.

" _Lanie you have no idea what is going on between us. Just don't assume you know everything!"_

" _KATE It's what you are afraid of the most that prevents you from staying in a loving relationship...Communication among other things!._

" _Lanie, you have no clue! I'm keeping him safe."_

After Kate let that little bit of information slip, she became so angry that she stood up, slapped Lanie and left the bar with her holding her hand to her face.

She thought about calling the Dr. Burke to see if he could make time for a session. She called and he could fit her in but it would not be until tomorrow. So she kept busy until she went to bed. Now as she tried to get to sleep she knows that she had ruined the last friendship she had left.

Javi and Lanie were still an item while Rick and Kate were going through their divorce. She had actually thought that they were getting to a point in their relationship where they would have possibly taken the next step. That was until Javi had come to her to report on the case that they had just closed and delivered the case paperwork for her final signature. As he finished his summary, his eyes were drawn to the final divorce decree laying on her desk. As she looked at him his face went passive. Right, there she knew that he had lost all faith in the sanctity of marriage and the thought of being with one woman for the rest of his life.

"Javi, you know it's not the same for you and Lanie, right? The two of you have something very special."

"Kate do we? Don't be so sure of that, because I'm not. She won't commit. It has something to do at her time before college. I know that much. But she won't tell me what happened."

A couple of days later on a night out one evening, Lanie and Javi touched lightly on Rick and Kate and their situation. On one hand Javi sided with Kate, telling her that Rick could not understand what it was to be a cop. Lanie quickly defended Rick telling him that Rick only wanted to keep his wife safe and be able to come home to him at the end of each shift. The conversation quickly turned into a shouting match before either of them knew it. Angry words were hurled at each other. By the end of the meal, they both had decided that ending their relationship was the best thing they could do. As he lies in bed later that night his mind wanders to Kate, who had so many hopes, dreams, and fantasies about dating and marrying her multimillion dollar writer and then they could be thrown to the gutter so quickly. He sees the pattern emerging once again. His parents had done basically the same thing splitting up and with that split, he never had a father figure in his life. Committed relationships? Yeah well, that worked out just great for Beckett now didn't it?


	3. Chapter 3

3

Lanie hated the fact that Kate would toss Rick aside without even trying to work out her issues with him. Who in their right mind would counter with filing for a divorce? She fought too hard for Rick in the first place. That was one thing that she could not understand about her friend. The second thing was the fact that for the sixth time Kate had bailed out on a girls night out. She must have decided that doing whatever she was doing now, was more important than their friendship. There would be no more attempts at keeping their friendship intact anymore! Not over their last encounter, the hit to the face she gave her hurt but it was more of an emotional feeling that accompanied the hit that made her mad.

Deciding to let her hair down she thought that a night out is the order for the evening. Finding her new jet black Ralph Lauren dress hanging her closet she puts it on, finds a set of Jimmy Choos 4" pumps and a Michael Kors clutch to round out the outfit. Applying her makeup she likes the look she came up with. Standing in front of the full-length mirror she looked stunning. The guys had better look out!

She hails a cab and as she slides in. She really doesn't want to do loud and obnoxious. So reserved is the way to go tonight especially with the dress she had decided to wear. She has a place that fits the bill.

"45 E 18th Street please." Lanie requests of the cabby.

"No problem, doll!"

Lanie blushes at his comment. They arrive rather quickly even with the midtown traffic. She hands the cabby two twenties for a thirty-two dollar fare telling the cabby to keep the change. Getting out she looks at the historical bar. She idly wonders if Rick still owns it. She knew that he had set up Kate with a large amount of money and real estate that could keep her very comfortable for the rest of her life. She walks to the stairway and descends to the entrance. Entering she notices that Brian is still behind the bar. She walks up to him and says hello.

"Hi, Brian. How have you been?"

"Dr. Parish, aren't we looking seductive tonight!"

"Stop it, Brian. This little old thing?"

Brian just smiles back at her making Lanie blush. "So can I get you your usual?"

"You know what Brian, I feel the need for something more exotic can you make me a Breakfast in Bed?" Lanie gives him a sly wink.

"Sure, coming right up. Have a seat and I'll bring it right over."

"Thanks, Brian, you are the best."

Lanie takes a seat near the booth that meets with the stairway to Rick's office. Seconds later Brian delivers her drink. She takes a sip and likes it. So much so that before he leaves she places a standing order for more as she needs them. Thinking about how her life has progressed since she moved here so long ago she for the first time feels lonely. She just ended a very long relationship with Kate and it hurts. She is just finishing her third drink when she hears it. It's faint, but she can't miss it. Is someone sobbing? Maybe weeping? She stills and looks around and sees most everyone is happy. No sadness anywhere around her. She turns her head slightly and there it is again. Getting up she walks over to the stairway and the sobbing gets louder but it's still muffled. Descending down the stairs that led to Rick's office the sobbing is now unmistakably louder in both sound and repetition. When she gets to the bottom of the stairs the door is cracked open just enough to see Rick with his head buried in his arms on the desk.

Hesitant to enter she just observes for a few minute at the door. She sees that he is cradling a picture of himself and Kate in his hands. Raising his head and taking a long look at the picture he places it back on his desk and wipes the tears away from his cheeks. Sensing that he might be getting ready to leave she knocks on the door.

"Come on in Brian, it's open." Rick calls out.

"Well, that's a first! I've never been compared to a guy before." Lanie jokes as she enters his office.

"Does the dress I'm wearing remind you of Brian?"

"Lanie, I'm so sorry. I thought you were Brian with the eleven o'clock safe drop. I do apologize."

"Rick it's fine, I've been compared to much worse."

"So Lanie, what brings you to my neck of the woods?" Rick asks.

"Do I need a reason Rick?"


	4. Chapter 4

4

Rick looks over to the woman who Kate had once called her closest friend. He immediately saw that she was alone and that she was in a killer dress. Something that would look great on the floor in his bedroom. _"What the hell am I thinking? She is Kate's friend. Wait, was her best friend."_

"Rick, are you okay?" Lanie notices the decanter of scotch near the right side of his desk. She can see he is a wreck over the way things ended with Kate, but moving forward brings closure. So she knows that he is upset with the way things ended and she will give him the comfort he needs. But she will do it smartly. Taking this into consideration she asks Rick, sweetie, how much have you had to drink tonight?"

Rick replies a bit slurred "Not enough! But Lanie, it's the only way I can get free from her. I know it's wrong but she invades my every thought. It's like she can't seem to care anymore. I have fucked up once again. I lost Kate. Three marriages and now three divorces, what did I do wrong? Can you at least tell me that? The worst part of all of this is...she never said goodbye to me. She just packed a bag and left."

"Rick, listen and listen to what I am going to tell you. None of what happened between you and Kate is your fault. But even though she has made it perfectly clear that we're no longer friends now you really need to look back and think about how this went sideways."

"Lanie, I've been over and over it in my mind. Something just doesn't add up. It's like she threw a switch and everything came to a screeching halt. She was like a different person. Never once did she show any kind of compassion or emotion. When she left she told me that she loved me and then asked if I would forgive her and did I love her. Lanie I can't stop loving her."

"Rick, let's get you back to your loft. I'll help you get settled in. Then we need to work on what has her so spooked. Trust me it's something big and we need to find out what the hell would make her do something like this. Then Lanie remembered her slip right before the slap _"I'm trying to keep him safe."_

It's the comment she made that Lanie kept coming back to. She was working something and she was not being forthcoming with any of them. But if Kate was hell bent on throwing away Rick... She'd be there to pick up the pieces.

The cab ride was quick. They had arrived at a dark and cold loft. Not cold due to lack of heat, but cold personality wise. She noticed that everything that had Kate's feminine touch was absent. No figurines on the bookshelf. Her clothes were all removed. There was nothing that remotely screamed out that she had once made a life here.

Rick was a bear when he drank way too much. He was leaning up against the door frame to their bedroom. She noticed the tears that were running down his face when she came around to face him.

"Come on sweetie, let's get you to bed."

"Lanie, what did I do that made her run once again?"

"Rick, I'm not one to judge her. But I'm sure she had her reasons."

"REASONS?" He screamed so loud, and it startled her.

"Shhhh Rick, you can't keep doing this to yourself. Now come on. Let's get you ready to sleep it off."

Lanie stripped him down to his boxers and when she did she gasped. She had a new found respect for him. Yeah, a really new found respect. Slipping on a sleep shirt over his head and guiding him to the bed she covered him with the comforter. As she was walking away, he called out to her. She stopped turned and waited until his mind caught up with his mouth.

"Thanks, Lanie. Maybe we should meet once a week just to stay in touch."

"Sure Rick, I'd love that. I'll give you a call." As she looked over to the bed it looked like he was out for the count. So much so that he might not have heard her. But she would be calling him just to _"keep in touch,"_ she thought silently to herself.


	5. Chapter 5

5

And call she did. She gave him three days because she knew that his life was turned upside down and he'd be really hung over the next day. So she had just given him a call knowing that she would limit the call to only a couple of minutes. It was the thing to do anyway because Pearlmutter was out sick and she had 7 cases from 3 boroughs. Time for a call needed to be short.

Lanie had gone to Ryan and asked if he knew what Kate could be keeping from all of them. Hell, she was their captain after all. Whatever it was Kevin Ryan was not allowed access to whatever she was doing on the side. Then there was this new guy Vikram. He seemed, from what Lanie had noticed he was right up Kate's ass. Or maybe another part of her anatomy, she really just could not tell. But every time she came to the twelfth he was like a puppy dog following her around Not that she cared that much anymore.

"Rick, How are you, sweetie?"

"Mmmm, S'okkay mmm fine."

"Rick, have you been drinking again?"

"Whosos dis?"

"Rick, It's me, Lanie. Please, tell me you're at your the loft!"

"YUPPER! It's fivvve o'cluk somer whre aint it?"

" _Yeah right. Five o'clock my ass! It's damn near 11 am. What the hell...Rick!"_

"Rick, Don't move baby, I'm coming right over."

Before she had the chance to say anything the line went dead. She quickly finished her notes on the current body she had on her slab and then took a long lunch break. She hated that Kate could still be so dominating over him still. She had made her mind up that this would end...NOW! She would get him sober, and if she had to she would even dump all his expensive scotch down the drain if he could not see to reason.

She entered the loft with the key he had given her about two weeks ago. What was laid out before her was total chaos. Since Martha had moved to the apartment above her acting studio and Alexis had graduated from Columbia and was working as an intern for the prestigious law firm of Summers & Schneider, PC. Her place was just off Columbus Circle near the southwest corner of Central Park west. If she knew Rick he had a hand in her finding an apartment so close to her job. This is why she cared about him so much he would always give to others no matter who they were.

But what hit her as she made her way through the mess in front of her it was nothing short of a tornado. Books were thrown everywhere. The bookcase was tilted and it would have taken a lot of force to unbolt it from the floor. Then when she entered his office she walked through the office and he was not there, she panicked. Then she peeked into the en-suite bathroom and she stood and looked at the damage. Kate's makeup containers were flung at the wall-length mirror with great accuracy. It was peppered with broken mirror and what remained of her blush, nail polish bottles, and eyeliner. He more than likely threw them at what he thought was her reflection. He could not have been more wrong. She could not figure where he got them in the first place.

She finally found him lying half on his bed. The way he was laying looked painful even to her. She cautiously shook him and and he came to with a start. She was amazed that he was so alert, that was until he opened his mouth.

"Lanieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee I'm a boy, and boy mmmm I likeeke grurls. I so gldldd to sssee me!

"Rick how much this time?"

"Lanesssss isss not hoe much, but thhhee quannnnity of what I drunk...imeansss drank drink. Nnnn I gots me good drink. Yeahh mmmm lost wit that oneee! Hlp me pleeeeese?

"CASTLE!"

"Yup dats me whatcha want Baby?"

Lanie chuckles at his term of affectation towards her "Rick you need to stop this. It's not good for you. Promise me that you will stop this madness?'"

"Lanes I misss her."

"Rick, promise me that you will stop destroying your palace and drinking yourself into a stupor and I will help you through this. But you need to stop this right now!"

Okayyayy Laneeeseis. I swear. Jussst tell me when I can rmberesret it! I promsed I'll be a strate arrew, arrmo, wait, a straight arrow dats it! Dammmm tht wases herrrderr thannn iie thought."

"Rick lets get you ready for bed." " _Yeah at 12:30 in the freaking afternoon."_

Lanie once again guides Rick to his bedroom. Stripping him of his button up and his jeans she expects him to be dressed the way he was the last time she did this. Only that's not what she finds when she tugs his jeans down and she sees that he has gone commando. As she looks up to his face he has a smile on his face that only be described as _"I have it do you want it?"_ This is not why she is here right now.

She quickly gets him into bed and covers him. She tells him that she will call him tomorrow after he's had the chance to sober up...not until then. He agrees...

 **Two chapters in one day. I'm getting close to finishing my vacation on the Jersey Shore. SO a second chapter in one daay was possible. Things will be getting very interesting for Rick and Lanie.**


	6. Chapter 6

6

The pictures were incriminating, to say the least. Kate had been called into 1PP by Deputy Inspector Gates. She knew that it would not be a meeting that she could explain it away so easily. But she knew now that someone had been watching them. Now she was more at ease that Rick was safe. Sure they were long since divorced but she still felt the need to keep him safe, for Alexis' sake.

Gates knew that they had split. She actually had hoped that they could make it. It's sometimes so hard to find the right person. But after she had been warned about the way she had been acting, this was her last warning. 1PP was hell bent on canning her ass completely but she had convinced them otherwise. She knew from her first day she was deep into something and her performance as a Captain had paid the price for it. Sure she was getting the basics completed for her new position, but she lacked the drive and compassion she had as a detective. Her office door shook with a hard knock.

"Come in." Gates said.

Kate walked in proudly "Good Morning sir."

"Ahhh Captain Beckett. Please, have a seat." Gates pointed to the chair across from her desk where about 15 4x6 pictures were arranged at the end of the desk.

"So Captain, how is the 12th doing, hmm?"

"Inspector Gates we are holding our own. I'm proud to say."

"Proud? Captain, you need to get a better word to describe your workplace."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, how about these words and mind you I'm being kind, Sub-standard, Inadequate, shoddy, below average, and finally UNACCEPTABLE!"

When Gates finished yelling Kate just sunk back into the chair and waited for Gates to say something. There was no way she was going to stick her foot in her mouth now.

"Captain, take a look at the images in front of you. These were given to me by a courier sent from The New York Ledger an hour ago. Some of the pictures in front of you will be run in their paper. In tomorrow's edition on page six no less! Do you know what this will do for the departments image?"

"Sir, my personal life is just that, personal."

"Captain, actually it's not! When you were married to Mr. Castle, you were fair game. Now that the two of you have split, it's 10 fold now. You are on every rag's radar. So no your personal life in no longer personal."

"These pictures are damning. This one has you leaving an SRO at 4:30 in the morning. That in itself is confusing because you have no reason to be at a place like this, to begin with! What really gives the department the black eye is the fact that you were seen leaving with that man, having dinner with him and in essence doing almost everything with him!" Gates points to a second, third, fourth and fifth pictures with her and Vikram following close behind her almost pressed against her leaving the SRO, sitting at a cheap dive for a quick meal, sitting in her car, the list goes on.

"Inspector, again my personal life in mine to do with it as I see fit."

"Ohhh Captain, you see that's where you're wrong! If you would so kindly take a look at the date printed on the bottom of each image please."

Kate looks and her face goes slack and loses all color. Then she starts to shake. She can't believe that these pictures were taken when she was still married to Rick. This was not going to end well. This caused a problem on top of problems. She'd be surprised if she still had a job.

"Yes, I thought as much. Captain, what are you into now? Come clean and I'll see if we can keep you employed in a traffic unit in the worst part of the city."

"Sir, I... I'm not at liberty to say."

"Well, Captain that's too bad. As of right now, you are suspended without pay. Until a time when formal departmental charges can brought against you. Foremost being the misuse of departmental resources, manpower, and equipment being the most serious. I'll need you to surrender your weapon and shield, please."

She can't believe that this is happening. Everything's gone. Rick, her job most likely, and her best friend. And it's all because of this damn case. As she leaves 1PP her phone vibrates, taking it out she reads the caller ID before answering it reads: Alexis Castle. _Oh, Shit!_


	7. Chapter 7

7

It has been just 4 days short of a month since Rick had his drunken stupor of a breakdown. Since that time all possible items that might have been left by one Katherine H. Beckett have long since been removed, boxed up and sent by FedEx to her current address. The break needed to be a clean one. The bathroom mirror, bookcase, and love seat had been either repaired or replaced. Lanie had kept her promise to help him work through his heartache of his latest divorce. They had been meeting once a week, and to her, it felt like she was more of a therapist of sorts. He would tell her all about how Meredith had cheated on him, how Gina was only married to him for his wealth, and finally Kate.

Curious she stopped him and asked what she had taken from him and after giving the question a lot of thought and told her "She took my soul"

Lanie needed for him to see that all was not lost, that he could find love once again and she had never really taken his soul. This was something that he would never lose. His heart, on the other hand, was another story. Being burned like he was she thought that it would be a lifetime before he would open up his heart to another woman. That's because Kate had managed to strike one last time...

 _25 days ago..._

Lanie heard the newspaper delivery kid drop the paper by her door. Actually, his timing was perfect. She had just received a call for a body drop and she was on her way out when the paper hit the door. She picked it up stuffed it in her bag and locked the door behind her. It was not until later that morning after returning from the crime scene that she was able to sit down and read the first section. When she flipped to page six, her stomach twisted into knots instantly. There was Kate and Vikram in a picture leaving a hotel. There were others but this one was the worst.

The caption read: _His muse has flown the coop! Richard Castle can't seem to keep any of his wives happy!_

Lanie's first thought was to go over to the loft. She needed to see if he was okay because she knew that he had already read the paper. So she decided to text him instead. Sending him something that she thought was a neutral message.

" _ **Rick, are you okay?"**_

She placed her phone on the desk and returned to reading the paper. She was so engrossed in reading that an hour went by with no reply from him at all. The article was showing Rick as a man who could not hold on to his wife. This would have been okay now since they were divorced but the pictures were taken when he and Kate were still married. Yeah, this was going to hurt.

Rick was still a little out of it after his last scotch induced rant yesterday. He got out of bed and he forgoes heading for the shower. Food is the priority first. Then maybe 4 Motrin's. His head was almost back to normal. Swinging the door to the loft open he bends down to pick up the paper. Walking back to the kitchen counter he prepares the coffee machine and brews a pot. As he waits for the coffee to finish, he peruses the main articles on the front page. He reads carefully how another ISIS cell was taken down in Brooklyn. Then he checks the weather forecast on page four. Happy with the forecast he turns the page and what he is staring at next is his ex-wife in black and white. It's a small shot of her and a former AG agent. He can barely make out the date in the grainy picture, but from what he can tell it was taken about a month after Kate had left him. Then he realizes that they are leaving from a pay as you go hotel. Well, at least that's why she left him, she had decided that he was not what she was looking for. Damn the headline was right he could not hold onto any of his wives.

His phone vibrates on the counter next to him. He looks down at the display and reads _**"Rick are you okay?"**_

Is he?


	8. Chapter 8

8

Kate was dreading the conversation she was going to have with Alexis. Her phone was still ringing and the quicker she answered another chapter of her life would end. Raising the phone up she swiped and put the phone to her ear. As the call connected all she heard was screaming, though not directed at her, that would come once she said hello.

"Hey, Alexis!" Kate said hoping that she was at least going to be civil.

"You BITCH! Who do you think you are? Are you even concerned about how much more you are hurting him again this time?"

Yeah, that civility went right out the window.

"Alexis, I can explain. It's not what it looks like. Please believe me."

"BELIEVE YOU? why should I believe anything that comes out of your mouth? All you have done is LIE! Trust me when I say this detective but the days of trusting you are long gone. Just when he was starting to live again, I mean getting over how badly you crushed him again and then, this shit happens."

"Alexis, please let me get a word in." Kate pleaded with her.

"First, don't call me that. We are no longer related in any way. My name to you is Miss Castle, so use it. Second whatever lame excuse that you could have for being with another man while you were married to my father could never and I mean never could be explained with a phone call." Kate's hopes started to rise after hearing this.

"So would you like to meet somewhere for a coffee or dinner maybe?"

"As if! Detective the reason for my call was purely a financial one. Since the divorce, you have amassed a large sum of money. There are some forms that you need to sign and send back before the week is over. They are all marked with the little neon red arrows so people like you will know where to sigh them."

"Ale... Miss Castle, why do I even have a large sum of money?"

"Detective it's simple. Dad wrote his books about you. The characters name was "Nikki Heat" and when you sell books you earn an income. With this, you can do anything you want. But houses, boats, cars, and more. What don't you understand?"

"Alexis, don't be so condescending. I know what book sales mean. What I don't know is why I have a large sum of cash, to begin with?"

"You really can't be that dense... can you. Detective my father loved you. Real eye opener there right? So after the first Nikki Heat book hit the bookshelves he had his lawyer set up an account with 10% of the profits from sales from the book series."

"He did WHAT?"

"Yes, detective he did just that. I was against it at first but then after the two of you got married well I thought he was right in giving this to you. Now, I'm back to what I thought when he first did this. You really don't deserve this."

"Miss Castle why are you sending me these forms? Why can't he send them? And how much are we talking about here?"

"Detective I'm sending you these forms because I am now the CEO of RCE. The reason he will not send them is that I am in charge of everything that involves this enterprise now. He does not know that we are even talking about this, and I plan on keeping it that way. It's just business now. As for the amount in the account, it's just shy of sixteen million. fifteen million, seven hundred and thirty-six thousand, one hundred sixty-two dollars and eighteen cents."

"HOW MUCH?"

"Detective, it's just money. The forms need to be sent back to me by the end of the week for you to have full custody of this account. After that, there will be quarterly deposits into the account as long as book sales support it. But be warned, when book sales start to taper off the flow of cash diminishes greatly.

"Wait why will the cash flow taper off, the series is still continuing right?

There is not a sound on the other end of the line. Kate is now a little concerned.

"Detective, when I receive the forms back from you this will finally end any association you have with RCE or my father. Good-bye, detective."

"Wait, Alexis, why would the deposits start to slow down?"

"For income from book sales, there needs to be books to buy."

"Good-Bye Detective!"

"But Alexis..."

As she sits in the small booth at the diner, she toys with the spoon in her coffee cup. She hears the bell ring above the door and automatically looks up. Her heart hopes once again but once again she is disappointed. Lost in thought she wonders why he never told her about the account when they were married. Hopefully, it was one of the topics she could discuss with him. Looking down at the table the light from the overhead lights dim. As she looks up he notices the tears that trail down her face. He slides into the booth opposite her and says "What's wrong Katie?"


	9. Chapter 9

9

"Dad, what am I going to do?"

"Katie, the time to ask that question has long passed you by. What you need to do now is take care of you. It's sad really, I thought you and Rick were made for each other. Almost like myself and your mother were. It's been three and a half years."

"Pro's and Con's?"

"Yeah, Pro's and Con's." She looks at him and sees that he looks a lot older than the last time she saw him.

"Con, you are currently unemployed. There might be a slim chance you might get your job back but I would not count on it if I were you."

Jim holds up his hand stopping her from talking. "Q&A later."

"Con, you have lost all of your friends and about the only thing that you have left now is your dignity."

"Yeah, well I'm not so sure if that's even there anymore."

"Ahh remember no talking you'll get your chance."

"Con, your marriage was something that you did not fight for."

"I know that you think that you fought for it, but Katie, you didn't. He would die for you. I mean he'd really die for you. He was the only one who was really fighting for the two of you. He was the only one who did. You just took what he did for granted."

"You don't know how many times I have met with Rick and early on after you decided to counter with the divorce when all he wanted was a trial separation, those times were the darkest days I have never seen the man like this. It's like he lost his way. Katie, he was a mess. He was never sober, I mean I can't even count the times I had to run out of the house go to some dive bar and pick him up. You have no idea how badly the impact of your actions had emasculated him back then, and honestly, I don't think he will ever recover. He once was happy and carefree. He would give anyone anything they ever wanted. Now he never comes out of the loft. He gave up writing. The Nikki Heat series was it for him. I really don't think in the last three years he has even bothered to try to outline a story because it hurts too much."

"Con, whatever it is that has you so wrapped up in yourself it's taking a toll on you. You are not eating well. You look like you've lost about twenty pounds. And that look on you is the look of death. No amount of make-up or concealer could ever hide that. Katie, I'm worried about you."

Jim waved his hand in front of her giving her the okay to talk.

"Pro, I still love him! I've never stopped."

"Pro, my job is the least of my worries now."

Jim looked up at her with a questioning look on his face but kept quiet.

"Pro, while I might not have any friends there is always the prospect of making new ones. I hope that what I have done in the past can be fixed, I've hurt a lot of people."

"Pro, This project I'm wrapped up in... I'm close dad. So close that when it's finished I know that I can walk away from all of it.

Jim leans back from the table and thinks. Some of her Pro's make sense. But overall his Con's trumped her Pro's.

"Katie, What did you mean by your job is the least of your worries?"

"It seems that Rick had had the kindness to set up an account with a percentage of the Nikki Heat revenues for me. I only found out about it this morning."

"Gee I bet Alexis hated to make that call."

Kate was shocked! "Dad you talk to Alexis?"

"Katie don't look so surprised. Most of the times that we went to get Rick she came along grateful for the help I was giving her for her dad. And yes we still talk. They are a part of me. If it was not for them..."

She hated that she had been so wrapped up in this god damned case that it almost cost herself the bond with her father. Still, she could not fault him for keeping Rick and Alexis close to his heart. They were for him a quasi-family of sorts.

"Katie, I know you. I know you all too well. When you set your sights on something you are relentless. You never stop. That quality is good when applied in the right circumstance. Whatever it is that you are chasing, however long it takes you, it's the wrong thing to use. It has already cost you your marriage and you could possibly end up dead. I don't want that to happen to you. That quality is what got your mother killed. If it was not for her digging just a little more she'd still be alive today."

"Dad?"

"Katie, that's another story for another time. Tell me what is it that you want?"

She really wanted to know what he meant about her mother, but he was right that was another conversation.

"Dad I want him back. I know it's selfish and there will be a lot that I'll need to prove to him, but I still love him."

"What if he has moved on?"

"Has he?" She asked.

"No, that you are going to need to find out for yourself. No free pass from me on this one. You hurt him, Katie, don't be that surprised if he won't speak to you...at all."

"Dad, what do I do?"

"Katie, I seriously have no idea."


	10. Chapter 10

10

After the meltdown he had with pictures being printed in the Ledger, he sent a text to Lanie. He wanted to adjust their weekly meeting to today.

" _ **Lanie, can you meet this tonight instead of Thursday night?"**_

" _ **Sure, Rick. What's up?"**_

" _ **When you get here."**_

" _ **Okay see you in about two hours, is that okay?"**_

" _ **It is and thanks."**_

Lanie finished up with her cadaver on the slab. Covering her with a sheet and sliding the body back into the refrigerated storage drawer she collected her notes and went to her office to transcribe them. Her mind drifted to Rick and wondered what was so important that he needed to change their meeting days. She finished up her notes shut down her computers and locked her office. She made it home within fifteen minutes. First order was a long hot shower with repeated shampooing of her hair. She had processed 3 bodies today and the smell was terrible.

Rick had time to get his mind on what he needed to do. He needed to explain everything to her, it was for the best. He selected his best burgundy button down. A canary yellow tie and a pair of black JoS. A. Bank gabardine pleated black pants and a sports jacket to round it all out with. Tonight was going to be a cleansing of his soul to say the least.

They usually met at a diner on the lower east side for two reasons. He knew where Kate was living and he in no way wanted her to see him anywhere in the city. Second it was not that far from Lanies place. After all her help he could never ever inconvenience her. But tonight was a different story. He changed the location where they were going to meet. The new address was a upscale restaurant. Now she was worried about what he had in mind. She wanted to send him another text to ask why the change in address but reconsidered.

He had sent his car service to drive her to her destination. When she arrived at the address he texted her, her face went ashen. The door to the car opened and she found herself in front of Juni. A very trendy and a very expensive French eatery. She walked into the main room and scanned the dining area for him. As of yet he was not here. So she headed over to the bar and ordered a white Russian. There was a seating area for diners who wanted to enjoy a drink and conversation while waiting for the rest of their party. So she had a seat and watched the door. There was a man who she thought was Rick, only his hair was blond, and he wore aviator sunglasses. The man kept coming towards her and she was starting to feel a little uneasy. As he stepped in front of her he extended his hand and gestured it in a shaking motion towards her.

She lightly took a hold of his hand and gave it a quick shake.

"Miss Parish, I presume?" The man lowered his sunglasses just enough to peek over the top of them. The second she noticed his eyes it hit her, it was Rick. She could tell by his eyes. Now she wondered why he was a blonde.

"Yes, I'm Doctor Parish." If he was going to play this game then so was she.

"Oh pardon me. I had no idea! A beautiful woman and a doctor to boot!"

"So, are you meeting someone here? I myself am waiting for my friend."

"Friend, who in his right mind would leave your side?"

"How do you know that it's a man that I'm waiting for?"

Rick stutters on the first few words but recovers quickly.

"You my dear lady are a catch. And should not be left alone. Can I interest you in a meal?"

"I might be able to be persuaded. But I hardly know you, will you respect my virtue?"

"Dr. Parish your virtue is safe with me."

Rick offered his are to her which she accepted gladly. They retreated to a private booth for dinner she should have known that he would have set up something like this for them. It was a small booth for no one to see them, but one large enough to enjoy a great meal without bumping elbows.

"Lanie, the reason I'm in a blonde wig is because I wanted to get into this place without being mauled by fans. They are here and since I no longer write anything anymore, the paparazzi has been on the hunt so to say. I have heard that my picture can be sold for as much as fifty grand."

"Rick, what's the matter?"


	11. Chapter 11

11

"Lanie, let's order first and then talk okay? There are a couple of things we need to straighten out."

"Okay, Rick." This was not what she thought, she thought that tonight would be a happy meeting. He looked way too serious to be happy.

They waited for the waiter. When he arrived he asked for their drink order. Lanie refreshed her white Russian while Rick ordered a double scotch on the rocks. Lanie raised an eyebrow when he ordered knowing about his past.

"Rick?" She questioned.

"Lanie, I'm fine. It's just to calm my nerves, this is the only one I promise."

"Just one. I don't really need to deal with you out of control again."

Rick cringed at the comment. Then he vaguely remembers the times in his life when had acted like an ass. And she was there to help him pick up the pieces every time. Dinner was a quiet affair, with Rick trying to figure out how to start this conversation. So with throwing caution to the wind he started.

"I've been seeing a therapist Lanie."

Well, this was a new revelation. She never figured him to actively seek the help of a professional. Still, he was not telling her everything. He was holding back.

"Has it helped?" She hoped it did.

Actually, she has. We have been working on two areas of my life and there has been progress. So much so that I have just about finished the path I needed to set straight for one part of my life."

"Okay, which part is this?" Lanie had a bad feeling about this.

"My personal life. My therapist has shown me that I have been hurting the people in my life. Take you for example. I would always get drunk and you would always be there for support and help. There were times when I needed a shoulder to cry on or a ride home from a bar but after sorting out what we meant to each other we took the next logical step. We started seeing each other. Now while it was perfect, I can see that I have been the one who has taken advantage of you. Lanie, you gave me everything, and I can't reciprocate. I am damaged goods, and I'll never be able to be whole again. I will never be commit to you the way that I did with her. Lanie, my heart belongs to her and it always will. And I am so sorry Lanie. Really I am."

Lanie just sits there not being able to form any thought into words. Still staring at him she knew this dinner was a breakup of sorts. She just thought it would not hurt this bad.

"Rick? What exactly are you saying?"

"Lanie, I am not saying that we can't still be frie...

"Don't you DARE say that word! You have got to be kidding me right? Rick, we have something special. So special I thought it was bordering on love. I am not going to lose another person to this case."

"Case?! What case? Lanie, what aren't you telling me?"

Rick do you think I'd tell you now? It's the reason that we got together. She turned you away, divorced you, she could give a shit if you lived or died. I can't believe that you never had the balls to confront her with ANYTHING she was doing. Don't you find odd that the day she is promoted to Captain of the 12th she goes missing for 3 days? You saw her what...once in some abandoned warehouse? And then that's it? You don't even bother to try to find out what's going on? That's not the Richard Castle I know. No, the Richard Castle I know would be demanding what the hell she was into. I can't believe this. You don't cut off your nose to spite your face!"

"You know Rick this case has lost me a good friend that I cared a lot about. Now it looks like it I've just lost another."

Rick is just lost. All this time he knew in the back of his mind that there was something wrong but he just buried himself in a bottle. Hell, he should have dug into why she became so withdrawn. And now he finds out that Lanie was keeping information from him.

"How long have you known, Lanie?"

"Rick, why does it matter. You were inside a bottle. It's not like you were going to go out to stop her from doing something stupid...she already had. And now I'm done with this,with you. You know you two deserve each other." Lanie throws down two one hundred dollar bills onto the table and tells him "Rick this should cover my half of the bill. Have a great life!"


	12. Chapter 12

12

Rick picks up the cash that Lanie had left on the table as he watches her walk away. He had just made another big mistake. What was his major malfunction? She had given him the help when he needed it the most and he just tossed her to the side, finished with her like a spent beer can. He needed to decide what he was going to do now. Lanie was no longer a friend he could count on. Neither was his ex-wife. He still loved her but he was sure that the sentiment was not returned.

He was sure that Lanie knew what was going on with Kate. She was cryptic and he now knows that she was holding something from him. Now that that bridge was burned he needed to start anew. He would head back to the loft and dig into what she was into when she walked out on him. There was something there that he was not seeing.

Espo and Ryan were all she had to defend 1PP's decision to promote Kate to Captain of the 12th. It had been three years and still to this day the candidates who were in the running for the job back then still brought up the fact that they were more qualified for the job than she was, but Beckett was promoted anyway. It was getting old. They really had enough. So without warning, they decided to become detectives that did everything by the book., No more short cuts. If it had taken 48 hours to get a search warrant for a suspect and in that time the suspect had flown the coop, then they were not going to loose any sleep over it anymore. Whatever happened, happened. They did their jobs but there was no more going above and beyond like they had in the past when she was the lead detective. They had talked about the both of them putting in for a transfer, but with the problems that would cause her in the new title they decided to stay. Things were not the same since she and Rick split.

They knew that she was working some other case and when Gates had suspended her they started backtracking what she had been doing since she started acting strangely. The problem was that she hid whatever she was into. There was nothing that they could find out of the ordinary. So going against everything they knew they called Rick. This is where they found themselves off duty and in Castle's bar.

He walked up to the table and sat across from Espo. He wanted to get a feel for how he might treat him. They were not so happy when the divorce was final. So he opened with something that he hoped would not be that offensive.

"Hey guys, what's with all the cloak and dagger stuff?"

"Castle, seriously...can't friends meet for a drink?"

"Friends? That's what you think we are to each other? Come on Javi, you do you really expect me to believe that you actually think that? Hell the both of you blame me for what happened between me and Kate, and I had nothing to do with it. She countered with the divorce, so spare me the friends speech."

"Castle what are you talking about? Jenny told me that you agreed to the divorce. She was in the courtroom that morning." Ryan stated.

"Kevin, the only reason that the judge granted the divorce was because Kate was a no show. So since the other party in the proceedings did not show the divorce was granted. I never wanted this, I loved her."

The boys look at each other and say "Loved?"

"Guys put yourself in my shoes. She left me without so much as a goodbye. She just packed up and left. Then I find out that she was shacking up in an SRO with some guy! And on page 6 no less. So yeah I think it's safe to say that that boat has long since sailed."

"Rick listen there is something going on here. She is deep into something that we can't figure out. Gates suspended her without pay and she is facing disciplinary charges that could cost her her job."

"Javi, what do you want me to do about it? Of course, it's news to me that she has been suspended, but she never has to worry about working ever again. She is set for life. And yes your right she _is_ into something deep. So deep that it will probably get her killed."

The boys turn and face each other. He knows something that they don't and they want to know what it is.

"What do you mean she won't have to work ever again? And What exactly is she into Castle? You better come clean!"

Rick just narrows his eyes at the both of them...


	13. Chapter 13

Espo and Ryan see that Castle looks pissed just by the way he scowls at them from across the table. What were they to think. They thought he was the one that he wanted the divorce so why was still acting all mad when he just told them that he did not want it? He knew more than he was telling and they were going to find out what it was.

"Castle tell me what you meant by Kate won't have to work anymore if she decides not to?"

"Ryan, Espo she was married to me. She was my muse. So when I used her as the inspiration for Nikki Heat shortly after the book was released I opened an account for her with 10% of any and all Nikki Heat titles to be deposited into said account. She never knew about it until just recently. And I would've bet money that Alexis hates Kate and me right about now."

All Ryan could do was look at him with his mouth hanging open. Espo just said WOW!

"So it's current balance is just about 16 mil. Hell, today's Mega Millions is worth a lot more."

Espo said wow again. Finally getting around to the matter at hand he asks,

"Castle, what do you know about this case she is looking into?"

"Guys, somethings are better left in the dark. You included."

"Castle, stop jerking us around. You know that we are in this whatever you decide to tell or not tell us." Espo says.

"Yeah Rick, we want to help. I know that we practically disowned you right after the divorce, but if she's in some sort of trouble we need to intervene. And to be honest we could have handled what happened between the two of you better.

Rich sits back in the booth and for a couple of minutes he thinks. He knows that Javi knows that he was intimate Lanie for a while. He could make it easier on him and not mention it. Even though though he really wants to. He could admit that he and Lanie were lovers for every off the cuff comment that Espo had thrown at him over the years Espo looks at him and it looks like he expects it. He will be the adult now and keep it to himself.

"Guy's what she's doing will get her killed and the possibility of you both going with her. I can't tell you anything."

"Rick whatever she's into, please tell us what you know." Ryan pleads.

Esposito, however, takes a different tact. And it won't be pretty.

"Castle if you don't tell us what you know then I will have no recourse other than to arrest you for obstruction of justice."

Rick immediately takes the defensive. "Try it Javi, because if you do I'll have my lawyers rip you two new assholes so quick that you will never see it coming. And then after that, you won't know what hole to shit out of! So shut the fuck up. Don't you EVER threaten me again. Especially in my own bar! I'm done being the guy that you dump everything on. And I'm sick of it."

"Yeah Castle, that's what you think I'm doing? Dumping on you? You want to know what I think? I think that YOU were the one who fucked Beckett up and asked her for the divorce! You treated her like shit! All she was to you was a quick fuck to you and you don't deserve her. She was so hurt you asshole. She still cries in her office over you. So while you are out there living it up, she is STILL trying to get her life back in order!"

"Go to hell Javi you don't have any idea about what happened between us. And don't think that you do. You are just as clueless as the next guy."

"Castle while I have not come to the same conclusion about your relationship with Kate, as my partner has, I know what happened. Jenny was there. Now if you can forgive mister I know everything here, can we please try to save her? Or help her at least? I know that you still love her. Rick so please."

"Kevin why? Why do you want to risk your life to even have the remotest chance of saving her? Tell me? Do think that little of your daughter, your wife even? What she is involved in WILL get the both of you killed. I could care less about the ass across the table from me but you Kevin? I expected more. There are teams that will not hesitate to end you. So please, spare me your concern. Step away from her and what she is doing because it will only end badly for your wife and daughter."

"Fuck you Castle! We are going to help her with or without your help!" Esposito shouts.

"Fine, suit yourself Espo. But don't say that I that I did not warn you!"

Espo and Ryan move to get up and as they do Espo is stunned by the punch that hits him square in the jaw. It knocks him back into Ryan who then falls back into the booth.


	14. Chapter 14

All Ryan remembers is Javi falling back into him as he was trying to get out of the booth. He sees Castle still sitting on his side of the booth as he falls back onto the cushion. Getting up again now rubbing his jaw where it felt like he was hit with a sledge hammer, Espostio looks to the son of a bitch who just clocked him. Turning to strike back with his arm cocked back he stops abruptly mid-swing.

"I know that you don't have the balls to throw that punch at me!"

"What the fuck Beckett?!"

"Esposito, sometimes you just need to learn to keep your god damned mouth shut. So now the next words out of your mouth had better be an apology to Rick or else."

"Captain, your threats are idle. Or else what? What are you going to do Beckett? Take away my birthday? You no longer have the respect of the officers and detectives that you command anymore. Promoting you was a mistake. I'm tired of sticking my neck out to defend you to everyone!"

And for a second time Esposito had just made the mistake of sticking his foot in his mouth. He is hit directly on the bridge of his nose right between his eyes. So hard that his head hit the wooden backrest and he was knocked unconscious. He slumped over onto the table and Ryan looks to Castle shaking his right hand vigorously.

"Rick, I'm so sorry. I know that Espostio went way over the line. I heard the whole thing."

Rick just looks up at her and gets up and leaves the table. Ryan looks to Kate and says

"Kate, can you give me a hand with getting him up? I think Castle broke his nose."

Kate sits Espo up with Ryan's help and it's evident, his nose is definitely broken. It is already turning shades of purple.

"I'll be the first to say it...he had it coming. He just lost faith in you. He put you so high up on a pedestal that when it all came crashing down he was left with nothing. He thought the world of you. But I didn't think that an Army Ranger would have at least seen it coming!"

"Kevin, listen there are things that we as a team need to talk about. I still hope that we are a team. I know I have screwed the pooch with the steps I took to protect all of you but this was necessary. Or at least I thought it was."

"Protect us? What are you talking about Kate?"

"Just get him up and then stay with him. Don't let him leave when he comes to. That's an order."

Kate leaves Ryan and heads downstairs to Rick's office. The door is open so she enters. The place has changed. It's more businesslike now and has none of the classic 40's look to it anymore.

"Rick?" She hears water running in his bathroom but does not dare to enter. Five minutes he comes out and is startled when he sees her sitting on the edge of his desk.

"Leave now!" He says forcefully.

She looks up at him and while what he said is serious, but his eyes tell a different story. There's still concern for her in them. So she takes a chance and speaks again.

"Rick, I'm sor...

"Save it Beckett. I know what your definition of sorry means. They are like subway tokens. Everyone has one and they aren't worth much."

"Rick, we need to talk."

"Now you want to talk? Beckett I am no longer the little lap dog that you can treat like shit anymore. In case you forgot we're divorced. You got what you wanted, a clean slate. So spare me."

"RICK just listen to me for a sec alright?"

"WHY KATE? THE TIME FOR TALKING IS OVER! YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN COURT TO TELL ME WHAT THE HELL YOU WERE THINKING!" Rick was shouting so loud she was sure that Brian would be coming down to his office any minute.

"Sound proof walls remember, Beckett. No one will hear me."

"Rick, I know that you are pissed." With that she ventured a look over to him and she was right. He was beyond pissed still. Boy had she really fucked up.

"Beckett, let's cut to the chase okay?" First you are in over your head with this investigation into this heroin pipeline. You will end up dead as well as anyone else who is involved in this, it amazes me that it hasn't happened yet. Second you have been chasing dead ends for three years, when all you needed to do was come to me. I found out more about the who's, where's, why's and how's in just under a months time. So while you think that you were keeping me safe, it's the total opposite. You have put me in the crosshairs without even knowing it. And this guy that you were with in the SRO you know that he is a plant right? He is not or was never an agent with the AG's office.

He was sending everything you thought you found out to his bosses. He would feed you a lead, that he himself had fabricated and then watched as you chased your tail all over the place. Did you ever think to look into him? Or did you just take his word as his bond?

Which brings me to this...

Why do you thing my mother has been in England all this time? Do you seriously think that a British touring company needs someone with her skills? And do you really think I'd let Alexis out to roam the streets of New York on a daily basis? She was put in charge of Richard Castle Enterprises three years ago because the building that she is in and the men that provide her security when she does need to leave it are top notch. They would die protecting her."

She was stunned. Actually beyond stunned. He knew more than she ever thought she did.


	15. Chapter 15

She was not thinking that Rick had the resources to get further than she ever could. Another screw up she regretted. Chalk it up to being too naive.

"Rick, can I ask you what you found out? Maybe we can work together and end this."

"Kate you should really go now. We know about the same information and it will get you killed. I for one do not want to be around when that happens. I'm getting out now while I am still breathing."

"Bab.."

"Don't you dare finish that word. That meant something at one time. It was a term of affection we shared, one that we no longer share."

"So there is no way I can convince you to help me?"

"Like I said Kate I'm out."

Rick wraps a towel around his fist and starts to climb up the stairs. As he is midway up he hears her say

"I thought you always seek the justice in everything for everyone." It was just a whisper that she said under her breath but he caught it. Taking the steps back down two at a time he is down and in front of her in seconds.

"How dare you! You have no idea what this is doing to me KATE! I loved you once and the fact that I don't anymore does not mean that I still don't care about what happens to you. Stop being so selfish and open your eyes!"

"Rick?"

"Kate they are going to kill you. How many times do I need to tell you this? There are people who would not hesitate to end you right now if they wanted to and you'd never see it coming. God, how can you be so blind? This is not a book of the month club or a club you can join and expect to leave whenever you choose when it doesn't suit you. So, me wanting justice is for you to walk away from this... forever. Live a happy life Kate, find someone who can love you for who you are!"

"I thought I found him!" Kate looks at Rick knowing he is that man.

"Oh, no you don't. Kate, you had it all, but you selfishly threw it all away, and for what? To avenge some team that you barely spent 6 months with? Tell me how close are you in this rogue investigation of yours? In the last three years have you even found one solid lead?"

"I had a couple. They were promising at the start." She answered with optimism.

"And now I'll bet every lead dries up before you can chase it down. Kate LocSat is a person, not a big machine that has many heads. So when you decide to get your head out of your ass and smarten up maybe then you can see the light."

She knew that he knows more than he was letting on. She wanted to force him into telling her everything. He knew about LocSat. But in his current state, and the fact that he just TKO'ed Javi upstairs she decided against asking him anything for now. Or maybe ever. The one word he mentioned was rogue. Was he that so sure that this could be done with police resources? She would be laughed out of a job if she did not do this on the side. If he thought that, then she would not disappoint him.

"I'm going home, Beckett. Your welcome to stay, you know the way out."

Rick heads to the stairway once again and this time, he makes it to the top of the stairs without any interruptions. He throws a look over to Esposito who is just now coming around. He has a word with Brian and then leaves the bar. Stepping out onto the sidewalk he hails a cab. Shortly one pulls up to him and stops. He gets in and after they have driven a couple of blocks away he pulls his cell phone from his pocket. Dialing a number he has committed to memory he waits for an answer.

"Rick?"

"Yeah, it's me. Are you in New York?"

"I can be, why is something wrong?"

"Just get here as quick as you can. I have a situation and we need to talk about it."

"Always the charmer Rick. I knew you liked me for my brains and not my body. I'm on a plane within the hour out of Heathrow and I'll meet you at the loft early tomorrow morning."

"That will work, Thanks, Serena."

Rick ends the call and hopes that she can help him. She has a vast network of informants, shady informants who can look deeper into LocSat then he is able to. And who knows what her people can find out. He gets back to the loft and is surprised to see Alexis sitting the leather couch. He did not see the security team assigned to her at the front door and the anger starts to rise in him.

"Alexis?"

"Dad?"

"So we're playing that game are we?"

"What game are we talking about?" She asks curiously.

"You know damn well what game I'm talking about! Where is your detail?" His voice rising as he ends the sentence.

"Oh, those guys. I sent them home. Did you know that some of them have families and have been too busy guarding me to see them?"

"Alexis." He rumbles.

"Dad it's fine and I was careful. Always checking my 6. Please try not to worry about me. I'm a grown woman. I can handle myself."

"You might be a grown woman, but you're still my favorite daughter."

"Dad, I'm your only daughter. Captain Beckett saw to that."

"That's enough Alexis. God when will you at least give her a break?"

"Are you SERIOUS Dad?" She yells back.

"She abandoned you. No word about what she was doing, where she was going or even if she was still alive. And you want ME to give her a break? You need to have your head examined dad."

"Alexis I did not raise you to speak to me like that. Who have you turned into?"

"I've turned into someone who can't bear to see you in that fucking bottle again, that's who I have turned into! And I'll do ANYTHING to save you from yourself!"

Rick shut his mouth. He knew that he hurt her with his drinking and obviously that pain was still there rearing its ugly head. He decided to get the conversation on neutral ground.

"So why are you here?"

"What, that's it? We are not going to talk about how she destroyed you?"

No, we aren't."

"Well I have news for you...we are. Do you not think I don't hear what goes on in this city? You're lucky your not in lockup right now Dad!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Come on dad. Don't play dumb with me. It doesn't suit you. Your lucky Esposito doesn't lock you up and throw away the key. Assaulting an NYPD detective, seriously?"

"Yeah well he had it coming."

"So that makes it alright? Was she there?"

He wants so much to say no, but he has never lied to her.

"She was. But it had nothing to do with her."

"I'll bet it didn't. You know what they say, dad?"

"No, what?"

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Now you might think that this is a way to keep an eye on them but actually it means to keep them close, as silent reminders, so you can look at yourself in the mirror and one day say, "Today, I am strong. And trust me, dad, you need to be strong after what she put you through."

Rick just looks at her as she heads for the front door. His mind reels with her admission and now sometime soon he needs to have an adult discussion with her about her anger... really soon. He gets ready for bed knowing that he will need all his energy for the storm that's coming. And shit she'll be here in less than 5 hours.


	16. Chapter 16

As Serena hung up the phone she felt something was very off with him. Rick was one to never be so serious. He could be serious, but only when they were face to face. Then she could see it in his eyes. She made her reservations for the next flight out of Heathrow to JFK which happened to be the 6:30 pm flight arriving at JFK 6:45 the next morning. She tried to get her ass on the earlier flight but first class was booked as well as the rest of the plane. The only perk for this first class flight was that with the cost of the ticket it came with a chauffeur.

Packing the essentials she left her flat and hailed a black cab and in no time one pulled up to her. She threw her bag over into the unoccupied seat next to her and hopped in.

"Where to Blondie?"

"Heathrow, and if you can get me there in less than thirty minutes there's an extra 50 quid in it for you."

No sooner than Serena had mentioned the "extra" incentive she was thrown back into the rear seat. 26 minutes later they were approaching the airport.

"What carrier Luv?"

"Virgin Atlantic, Terminal 3. Thanks."

48 seconds later they were met by a skycap for Virgin. True to her word she paid for the cab fare and added an extra 50 quid.

"Any bags miss?"

"No, all I have is my carry on."

"What flight are you on? The skycap asked expecting a tip from this gorgeous lady.

"VS004." Serena replied.

The skycap went to his computer terminal by the luggage check in and punched the flight number in.

"Well, if you want to make it you're going to need to take off those high heels."

Serena looked at him confused.

"And why is that?"

"Your flight is boarding now. Lucky for you first class boards last, so that'll give you about 13 minutes for you to get through security and make your plane."

Serena bent down and removed her Jimmy Choos. She gave a quick handshake and started to run. When the skycap opened his hand there was a 20-pound note. All he did was smile and yelled to her retreating form: "Good Luck."

Serena made it through security quickly only because someone she had worked with previously moved her to the front of the line. She thanked him and just as they were making the announcement that the jetway would soon be closed, she screamed that she was on that flight. The ticket agent scanned her Galaxy S-7 for the boarding pass held within it and she just made it to her seat as the first class as the flight attendant was asking passengers for their drink orders.

She takes her seat and gets comfortable for the long 7-hour flight. She can't stop thinking about Rick. He sounded so disheartening on the phone, almost like he was giving up. But what was he giving up? She knew that he and Kate had split and they were civil about it but there was something more. She could not put her finger on it. Her thoughts were interrupted when the flight attendant asked her for her order. She declined a drink but wanted to be awakened when the breakfast was going to be served.

He smell of eggs Benedict woke her just as the flight attendant was going to shake her shoulder to wake her. She asked for an additional cup of coffee and the attendant went to get it. She returned with the fresh cup and Serena gave her the empty cup she just downed. She ate in silence and her thoughts went right back to Rick. The flight had made good time and they were set to land 30 minutes earlier than scheduled. Once they touched down, she stood, and retrieved her carry on, and waited until the cabin door opened. She was the third person off.

Walking through the terminal heading towards customs. Since she had nothing to claim she breezed through customs. Then she searched for her driver. She searched for her name and just as she was going to make a call, a very tall, and large man tapped her on her shoulder.

"Miss Kaye?" he asked.

"Yes?" she returned.

"My name is Frank. I'll be bringing you to your final destination."

"Thank-You Frank."

"It's my pleasure. Do you need to collect your luggage?"

"No, I have everything here, so there's no need."

"Fine, shall we?"

"We shall."

They both headed for his car. When she stepped off the curb, Frank moved past her relieved her of her bag and opened the rear door. Sliding in she waited for Frank to take his seat and start the Lincoln MKZ. Merging out of the terminal traffic, which was practically nonexistent he asked Serena where she wanted to be taken.

"595 Broome Street, please."

"Sure thing Miss Kaye. It should be about a 30-minute ride since it's this early." Frank said.

Serena just sat back and watched the city pass her by.

Xx

Rick had expected Serena at 5:30, but when he called Virgin he found out that she was on a later flight. He had more time to sleep after last nights disagreement with Alexis. It happens every time he tries to get some sleep. He knows that Serena's flight was not arriving until 6:45 and with travel time from the airport she would be knocking on his door around 7:30 to 8 am. So he really wanted to punch the person who made it their mission to beat down his door at 6:21 in the freaking morning denying him of his much-needed sleep. Realizing that the offensive knocking would not stop anytime soon, he dragged himself from his bed threw on his bathrobe and stumbled to the front door of the loft. Neglecting to look through the peephole he opened the door and said:

"There better be a damned good reason your pounding on my door at 6: 23 in the morning!"

"Well hello to you too Rick!" Serena takes in his unusual messy look and by the time she makes it to his face to her he has aged considerably she comments:

"Rick, you look like shit!"

"Yeah well, it's been one of those weeks. Come on in Serena."

Serena walks in and places her carry on on the love seat and walks over to the breakfast nook.

"Coffee?" Rick asks.

"Please. Hey, do you have any of that gourmet coffee from New York Gourmet Coffee?"

"All I have left is Cinnamon coffee flavor and English Toffee." Rick tells her.

"English Toffee it is, please."

"Coming right up."

As he works on their coffee, she wants to so badly ask him what's going on. But seeing that he is so preoccupied with making coffee (a Castle staple) she waits for him to finish before she asks him anything.

He places a hot steaming cup in front of her. He looks at her like she's his last hope. Just as her curiosity is about to get the better of her he speaks.

"Serena, I need your help."

"Alright, what's wrong?" She asks, not sure that she want's an answer.

"How much time do you have." He asks seriously.

"However long it takes Rick. I am currently free for about two weeks. Rick, what's wrong?"

"Kate is going to get herself killed. And I don't think I can stop it. She has become so self-destructive. She has no regard for her life anymore."

"Okay, what can I do? If she seems so hell bent on ending her own life over this, what makes you think that she will stop with anything I can provide her?"

"Serena, we need to operate under the radar on this. She can never know what we might do." Rick tells her with a death stare.

"You still love her don't you?"

"No, I'm afraid that ship has sailed three years ago. But I still can't be the one who could do something and decided not to. I don't want to see anything happen to her that could cost her her life."

"Rick, this could get deadly serious, real quick." Serena warns him.

"I know this. So will you help me?"

"On one condition... When this is over and done with and we both make it to the other side, we go out for a meal. And not one of those dives, I want 5 stars and nothing less!"

Rick thinks for a second and thinks it could be fun to go out if they survive this ordeal.

"Agreed."


	17. Chapter 17

Vikram Singh hated to be in the middle of anything that had to do with the CIA or any other 3 letter named agency. The attorney general's office was one thing, he was safe there. Not sticking his neck out to satisfy some power hungry figurehead. He drew the line when he was visited at his safe house by a short redhead and a taller man with grey hair. The were obviously spooks. He really didn't mind the visit, it was when they visited him that got to him. He was just coming out of the shower only to find a silenced gun pointed to his head as he reached for his towel.

"Vikram Singh?" She asked.

"Who's asking?" He replied.

"Oh Jack, I hate him already!"

"Listen, we ask the questions, you provide the answers." Jack responded.

Yeah, that's me."

"We understand that you currently hold a position at the 12th precinct, as a tech consultant under Captain Becket... Correct?"

"I do."

"Well as of now, you will report directly to us ANY information into the LocSat case that the Captain is investigating. No exceptions. Everything, and I mean everything comes to us first. And in the return you will give her information that leads nowhere, false leads to keep her looking but never finding anything. We don't want her anywhere near this case, or us. Understood?"

"Well, therein lies your problem. You're just a little too late."

"What was that, what the hell are you talking about?" Jack asks, his anger rising.

Rita raises her silenced gun from her side. Singh raises his hands in surrender. Rita moves behind Singh and presses the gun to the back of his head.

"Start talking, and if you don't, your life expectancy will be about 60 seconds. My wife can't tolerate liars."

"About a month after your son was taken from his wedding on Long Island, yes I know he's your son" Jack looks at Singh showing, even more, anger towards him "I was contacted by a top level government "fixer" I was given secret clearance and my background was created to reflect that I was an Agent for the AG's office under Director Freedman."

"So who do you really work for?" Rita presses the gun harder to his head.

"I can't tell you. He'll kill me, you and anyone else who has knowledge of LocSat. So, I'll kindly ask you to kindly lower your weapon, please!"

"Like hell, I will. It'll be a cold day..." before Rita can finish her sentence and in a split second Singh reaches behind his back and grabs her gun. While her index finger is still locked in the trigger guard and he twists her wrist and gun away from his head and spins her around against him and pulls a 6-inch slicing knife from the knife block on the counter. Holding the knife close to her throat he makes his demands. Jack lunges forward to counter his move, but Singh pulls the blade closer to her throat. Rita gives him a look with her eyes to stand down...for now.

"Now, I understand that you're pissed. So am I! I have been twisted so many ways I don't even remember my own name. Now this "fixer" set me up to intercept Captain Beckett three years ago. I was just to observe where she was going with her investigation into LocSat. I was not ordered to step in until about 6 months into her investigation. I was to feed her dead ends, keep her occupied so she would have no choice to do nothing about finding who was really responsible for LocSat."

Singh eased his hold on Rita a little and looked to Jack. Jack seeing the gesture, he stepped back to distance Singh from himself. Indicating a nod towards the couch in the living room he takes a seat and waits. Singh takes this as a turning point. He lowers his knife from Rita's neck. Hands her back her gun which she re-holsters. Singh still in his towel cautiously moves to Jack.

"Singh, I could kill you where you stand. So being that we need to talk more about this "fixer" let's call a truce." Jack asks.

"Agreed." Vikram sits across from Jack.

"So, you knew about my son's abduction?"

"No. I found out after the fact. All I know is that he was taken, by who I can't say, not because I won't, I just don't know."

Rita asks "Was this the only order you were told to follow?"

"Yes. I fed her sightings of possible LocSat involvement with numerous drug ties to gangs around the city. They never amounted to anything because they were all bogus."

"How were you contacted?" Jack wants to know.

"I received an initial call, voice electronically disguised and then an encrypted email to confirm the call."

"The order was never altered?"

"Only once. I received the call in the same manner but this one was different. Instead of asking her to follow another false lead, I was to give her an address where she would find a connection to LocSat."

"What happened? Jack is not liking this at all.

"When she arrived, she found the body of a deep cover agent. Shot execution style. On his chest, there was a note for her. It said written in his blood "YOU'RE NEXT!" This rattled her. So much so she backed off for a few weeks. I was able to run his DNA and I think he was one of yours. His name was Bill Delrossi."

Jack's face turned sheet white. He looked at Rita and stood up. Singh taking this as a possible attack he took a defensive stance.

"Singh, I meant what I said. Truce! We need to go. As of now, you keep her away from this case, my order still stands. And when this "fixer" calls again, try to find out where or who he is. We'll be in touch."

"I don't understand. Why cut her out of this. She could be an asset, she is very smart and intuitive." Singh demands.

"That's not how we want to do this. WE will investigate and once and for all finally take down LocSat. She divorced her husband over this case. She is not thinking straight. Any other objections?"

"Actually, I have two. How will we be in contact? How? And how do you know once you do finally find the person who is LocSat, that this will be the end of it? Do you seriously think that with all the poking around into this case we've been doing, that they don't have a contingency plan to fall back on?"

"We'll contact you through a black op channel. You'll know it when we contact you. As for who is running LocSat we know that whoever it is, he is just a puppet. Someone higher up is pulling his strings. So that answers both of your questions." Jack says.

And as stealthily as they appeared they were gone. Singh sighed walked back to the kitchen and finished getting his dinner ready as he stood there braced up against the kitchen counter, he hated them with a passion.

Xx

Kate had more than enough money to fund her own investigation into LocSat. She really did not want to touch the money that Rick left for her. But she was now desperate. Rick was right, the leads she was chasing down never produced anything solid. Maybe his thinking was right on track and that LocSat was only just one person. One central figure who gave the orders and no one else was pulling his strings. Her thoughts came back to Bracken every time. When he was alive he had to have a part in this.

Her phone pinged with a new text from Vikram pulling her from her thoughts. She pulled the device up, unlocked it and read.

" _ **Possible information regarding our case. Meet at the safe house at 2030."**_

Kate deleted it immediately. Having incriminating evidence was a sure way to lose her job. So she had time to shower before meeting Vikram. Refreshed from her shower, she thought again about what Rick said. Maybe he didn't know everything he thought he did...


	18. Chapter 18

Kate arrived at the safe house. Vikram was sitting at the desk just staring at a computer screen. To her, he felt off, like something was wrong she just had a bad feeling about him tonight. Walking further in she asks

"So, what's the new information you need to share with me Vikram."

He just sat there and she was thinking that needed to get his thoughts straight in his head before he answered her. She crossed her arms over her chest and waited. It wasn't until she was standing there for a full 10 seconds before she noticed it. His hands were perfectly still. He was never this still. She slowly moved in front of him and then she realized why he was so still. He had three rounds in his chest. She immediately went for her service weapon and as she did the shooter above her missed hitting her as her body moved to complete the task of drawing her weapon. The round hit the wall and she took cover behind the love seat that gave her a good view from the ground up. She crawled towards the end of the love seat and looked up the where the shooter was. He had the advantage of height but what he did not count on was the loveseat being so close to Vikram's work area.

Being that the love seat provided enough cover from her shooter, she slid towards the end of the loveseat and wiggled towards the high counter that obscured his line of sight. Turning towards the front door she stopped and listened before she got into a kneeling position. She concentrated and he was still up in the rafter. She could hear his controlled breathing. She proceeded forward and her only obstacle left was the side door. He let a burst of bullets fly when she pushed open the door but she had already bolted for her car.

"Nice shooting Jack!" Rita commented.

"You think it got the point across?"

"I think that she'll think twice about running down a lead that will end up as a dead end." Rita states. "But I have a feeling that now she's out in the cold. Vikram's dead. Ohhh, hold on a sec..."

"Vikram, it's okay, now you can get up now. She's gone."

From the office chair, Vikram rises and faces the pair. Bloody tee shirt and all.

"Do you think what you did was wise? You know that after the heat cools down, she'll find someone else to join her crusade."

"Yeah, we figured that much out. But the GPS unit that Rita planted on her cruiser will at least give us her general location. We need you to track her and keep us updated. We're going to pay a visit to who we think she'll recruit as her next partner."

"Copy that. I'll be in touch." Vikram heads back to his computer.

Rita and Jack leave his safe house. As they leave they give him an address and tell him to go there. This will be his new home since he is dead. He is also to torch the safe house he's in and not to take anything personal with the exception of his laptop. He douses the living quarters with gas heads to the door and strikes a match, then tosses it onto the loveseat. Seconds later everything is going up in flames. Retreating back to his BMW he gets in and enters the address Rita gave him into the car's GPS unit.

Xx

Rick and Serena are in his P. I. Office and he is listening to one of the many reports that have been coming in from her contacts around the country. It was only about 4 hours ago when she asked her contacts for help. Since then they had a better idea of what Kate was getting into. He was right when he told her that she would die if she kept pursuing this obsession.

"Rick, LocSat is what seems to be two men running it. I'm still in talks with the team I have in L.A. They found out that she was there not too long ago, the sad thing about it is that they ran down the lead that she did about 4 months ago, they found nothing. It was a major dead end."

"How could she be so naive?"

"I don't think she was. According to the team there she was given the address of a legitimate pharmaceutical company near Oxnard. When she showed up she kept the place under surveillance for about three days. Finding nothing."

"Serena, she's been kept running in circles for a reason. I'll bet it's that dirtbag Vikram!"

"How sure are you that he's not a LocSat plant to keep her chasing her tail?"

"For all, I know he could be. Do you have anyone who can run him for me?"

"Rick let's grab a bite to eat. I want to let my guys find out all they can about Vikram and everything else before we make a snap decision we might regret. It's still early on the west coast so we can spare about an hour."

"Okay, let's go. Anywhere special?"

"Surprise, me!"

"I know just the place." Rick said devilishly.

Xx

Kate had one last card to play. Will has been back in New York for the last year or so. So it's him she will ask for help first. But it's late tonight and he will be asleep. It can wait for until the morning. Even FBI agents have a Saturday off. She heads back to her rental unit in Queens. It's just about 1 am when she collapses fully clothed on her sad excuse for a bed. Forgetting to set the alarm she drifts off to sleep thinking about how Vikram's life ended. Yet another innocent victim of this damn case.

Vikram calls Jack and tells him Beckett is in the Long Island City section of Queens. Her GPS tracker places her in the 10-23 section of 47th Ave. He listens as Jack tells him to knock off for the night and he will watch her until sunrise. He hangs up and gets some sleep.

 **A/N: This short message is for Bob (guest) I am glad that you are no longer going to be following this story. Your comments as a guest reviewer have been terrible. I learned my lesson a while back and I was determined to give a voice to anyone who reviewed either good or bad. But even I have standards. Not only do show that you don't like what I write, you are a person who seems to hate the members of the opposite sex. I will never tolerate anyone who bashes women for no good reason what so ever. If you do this towards a fictional story I'd hate to see what happens to you in the real world! So with the exception of the first early reviews, anything you send now will be deleted. No female should be subject to you ranting against women.**

 **A/N: To the readers, This chapter was rewritten about 3 times. For some reason, I could just not get what was in my head onto the page. It did not seem to flow that well. Maybe it was Bob who was messing with my head? I can't tell but I will try to be better next week.**

 **P2P**


	19. Chapter 19

Detective Javier Esposito was nothing if not dedicated to his job. His instructor in the Army was the person who drove him beyond the basic training when he was assigned to his first infantry battalion. He had told him that any more training he was given could only pique his interests. It was this small shove in the right direction by his Master Sergeant that finally made his decision for him.

" _Javier, you were born for commanding men. It shows in everything that you do. I think that you could be an outstanding Ranger, with your permission I'd like to give you a shot at becoming one of the Army's elite."_

Ever since that day Javi never looked back. He was trained in every aspect of being a Ranger. When he was set to graduate he was shocked to see his mother and father in the grandstands cheering him on. But what he never expected was the fact that his dad was there in his full Ranger dress uniform, complete with his tan beret.

This is why he was so torn. He loved Kate like a sister. He really did. But he was molded into being the man who never noticed that there were shades of gray. In his world, it was either black or white, right or wrong. And those who did wrong were caught, tried and incarcerated. In his eyes, Kate did not respect the detectives and officers that she commanded. It was not until Kevin came to him after he was clocked by both Castle and Beckett that night in the Haunt, that he found out that she was deep into something that was going to get her killed. Now he was rethinking his approach towards her and her leadership plan. Knowing that she was devoting all her time to whatever she was doing, she had not really given up being Captain of the twelfth doing just enough to get by, but she did not really embrace the promotion either. So what she must be doing must be big.

The boys and Lanie wanted to find out how deep Kate was in with this off the books investigation. Well, Lanie really did not want anything to do with Rick since he screwed her by dumping her. She would put aside her feelings for him so she could conceivably save her semi-friend and his ex-wife. She realized that her relationship with Rick could have ended better, but she really wanted it to work out between them. She would give the boys and Rick and Kate her unwavering support.

They met at Espo's apartment and before long they were digging into what Kate has been up to since she and Rick split. Who knows maybe that could make them see that they belong together. That would be a long shot. They worked through the night and as the sun was starting to rise they decided to call it a night and hit it again later tonight. Being dead tired both Espo and Ryan called for a personal day. When Kate answered her phone she was surprised that both Javi and Kevin had taken personal days.

"Javi, are you okay"

"Captain, I'm fine. Just not enough sleep, long night." Espo used her official title after finding out what they could sifting through the files at his place and none of it was good. He needed to be an employee, not her friend, for now anyway.

"Okay, then get some rest and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sure thing Sir." Javi hung up tiredly.

He remembers when Inspector Gates had called and asked him if she deserved her reinstatement back to being an active Captain. He told her what he thought. If she was not going to be a Captain in the NYPD, the Inspector would be losing a very important asset to the force. She was reinstated the following day.

Xx

Dinner was a quiet time for Rick and Serena. They ate over small talk. They decided that they needed a plan that would work if they wanted to be able to take down LocSat and never have it come back into power.

"Rick answer me this… If we are successful at finding out who is in charge of LocSat how can we prevent someone else from taking over and continuing on with what they started?"

"Serena, I haven't thought that ahead far yet. Let's get at least some intel from your people and see where we are then. Maybe with it, we can come up with something solid."

Serena's phone pinged with a new incoming message. She opens the message and reads it.

Her LA team members had a lead on LocSat. What she was reading was that the drugs they were moving through a certain night club on 134th street and Amsterdam Ave, were subsequently moved out of NYC to LA and other major cities in the country. These drugs were actually doing more than getting men and women high. The creator of this drug had added chemicals to his drug that even in small amounts turned deadly. No matter how you ingested in, it attacked your brain's ability to communicate with the very organs that kept you alive. There was going to be a high amount of deaths associated with the spread of this drug. They needed to put an end to its distribution around the city and beyond. The person that created this drug was adding pure fentanyl to the heroin that would basically short circuit the brain. In essence with the brain shut down and every other life-sustaining organ would follow. And there were other drugs in with the fentanyl that he was using. The startling fact is that this happens within minutes after the drug was introduced into the person's bloodstream giving no warning.

"Rick we need to bring in someone who you trust in the NYPD. This is big, way too big for us alone to handle. Do you think you could trust Kate?"

"Serena, that's not an option. This LocSat case that she is so deep into is what made me lose what little trust I did have in her."

"You still love her…. Don't you?"

"Serena, I was not entirely truthful with you the other day. That's the one emotion I could never control. I don't think that I ever stopped loving her. She was it for me."

"Then, what are you going to do about it?"

"Listen she was the one who made the choice to run at this head on, I don't think she even thought about what the consequences were when she left me three years ago. Hell, I still don't."

"Rick if we do this you need to have your head screwed on straight. What we're doing might come down to you or me making a life or death decision, are you able to make a choice like that?" Serena asked him knowing that maybe more than one person he cares about the most could end up dead.

Rick just stares at the plate of half eaten cheesy fries between them. Thinking about his response.

Xx

Kate was wrong when she woke up early this morning. The four hours of sleep that she managed to get were in no way going to get her through this day. She only had time to grab a coffee light with sugar. Gone were the days that coffee was delivered to her by her thoughtful, caring husband. She hated what she had done to him. She thought this case would have been closed years ago. And maybe, just maybe she could have salvaged what she had done to their marriage.

She leaves the warmth of her car and steps into the cold breeze that chills her. Knowing that Will should be home, so she walks up the steps to his door. For an FBI agent, he lives pretty large. This three story townhouse most likely sold for a couple of million. She knocks and waits. When there is no answer she knocks again and she thinks she hears footsteps coming to the door. She turns and sees the paperboy walking down the sidewalk flinging papers as he walks.

Giving one more try she rings the bell and knocks hoping both will rouse him. It's seven am. He should be home. After two minutes she turns away disappointed knowing that he was her last hope. She'll come back after she has time to plan her day, but for now, she is once again all alone. As she descends the stairs, she hears the front door open and she quickly spins on her heel. What she sees shocked her. Standing in the doorway is a petite blond woman. She is about 5' 6" wearing a satin robe drawn together with a sash made from the same material. Settled close to her breast is a baby girl who looks to be about three months old.

"Can I help you, I'm his wife Jenna." The woman tells her.

"I'm sorry to have bothered you. I was looking for Will."

"He's not here, he was called in on a kidnapping case around four this morning."

"Please accept my apologies. I'll try to catch him later."

"Is there any message?"

"Just tell him Captain Beckett from the 12th precinct stopped by."

"I will Captain. Have a great day." The woman said with reserve as she continued to feed her child.

Deciding that she has a lot of paperwork to make a dent in, Kate heads to the 12th to get a head start on what she can while she has peace and quiet. As she drives away she thought about Will's wife and child. He had done well for himself, maybe involving him in this was a mistake.


	20. Chapter 20

Deciding to come in his early has been a decision that turned out to be a good one. With the absence of her boys, she was able to start and complete three pending closed cases and forward them to the DA. She takes a breath and looks at her schedule for the reports she needs to write for 1PP. There are two. A budget recommendation for the precinct, and her quarterly case closure stats. She tackles the quarterly report first. Finding out just how busy the homicide division has been she can only thank the people who make her look good. Kevin and Javi closed sixteen cases, all resulting in convictions this last quarter. Maybe in her budget report, she can put in a request for one or two more detectives.

The bullpen is starting to come alive and she notices Kevin at his desk. Deciding she needs a break she leaves her office and walks to his desk. She has a small request to ask of him. He sets down his recently poured coffee as she stops beside his desk.

"Hey, Kevin" Kate says.

"Hey, boss." He replies back.

"Listen, Kevin, I need a favor."

"What Beckett, no small talk? I remember when you always wanted to know about Jenny and Sarah Grace and Nicolas. Now it's right down to business. You've become so cold, Beckett."

To say that she was shocked would be nothing new. She was just a little annoyed that she was always using Javi and him for her own personal vendetta, without actually telling them what was going on. She did, however, think that they were figuring it out. She was now uncomfortable with asking him for this favor now. If she revealed too much, he would definitely put it all together. But she needed to find out to be sure.

"I'm sorry Kevin, I have a lot to deal with."

"I know Kate, but this is not who you are. You used to be a hard as nails detective, always finding the justice for the victim and their families. Now it seems to me that you could give a shit about what happens in your own house. I'm not talking about you and Rick, you seem to be like you're on automatic pilot. Just doing enough to get by to please 1PP. The passion you used to have for the job is gone."

"Kevin, there are reasons that I can't go into right now. But trust me this will be coming to a close and soon." Kate tells him.

"I'll believe it when I see it. Now, what did you need?"

"I know that this is a lot to ask, but could you look into a recent homicide…. Say within the last 48 hours?"

"Where?" He inquires.

"Well, I'd say start from around 10 pm two nights ago, most likely out of the 25th precinct."

"Okay, you know that I'll need a name to find out any information, right?"

"Vikram Singh."

"Kevin?"

He just sits there. He's as white as a ghost but he recovers quickly.

"Kate, what makes you think he's dead." Kevin asks not really wanting to know why she thinks this.

"Kevin, he has not been here in two days. He always calls in just about every 2 hours. Don't you find it strange that he hasn't?"

"Yeah, that is kinda strange. Okay, let me see what I can find out."

"Keep me updated." Kate asks. She turns away hoping he won't ask anything else of her. She had taken a chance, but she doesn't think he will put it together. Returning to her office she settles in to tackle the last report for 1PP.

Kevin Ryan is no idiot. He reaches for his phone tucked in his vest pocket. As he pulls it out to place a call to Javi, the elevator dings announcing its arrival. Off walks Javi and he is up from his desk in a hurry to intercept him before he can be seen by Beckett. He ushers him into the break room and turns the blinds closed. Closing the door Javi speaks.

"What the hell, Kev?"

"Javi, we have a problem." He says with hesitance.

"Spill. What's wrong?"

"Beckett asked me to run Singh's name for any chance that he was murdered."

"When?"

"Just now. She knows something Javi, but I didn't push her for anything more."

Espo thinks for a second and this is not the way he wanted to start his day. They had found a possible connection between LocSat and the influx of designer drugs coming into the city.

"Here's what you do. Run his name, find out if he really is dead and then come to ME first. If he's really dead, we can tell her later. While you're doing that I'll call Rick and let him know what she was asking you to do."

Xx

Rick and Serena are sitting in his car in Harlem. They decided to confirm the lead that her LA team had found. They were watching the comings and goings of a club that by all means should be closed this early in the morning. As they noted who came and went Serena had a thought and wanted Rick's take on it.

"Rick."

Rick pulls the spyglass from his right eye and turns his head towards her.

"What, Serena."

"I have a question for you." She asks with a little apprehension.

"Go ahead, I'm all ears." He speaks her trying to lighten her mood.

"Why would you think that this drug dealer would lace his drug with a chemical that will kill people? I mean as a drug dealer you would want repeat business, right?"

"Well, that's true. These people who have used this drug and have died range from a combination of homeless men and women to CEO's of fortune 500 companies. This does bring up one more interesting question, though."

"What's that?"

This dealer will be able to target his drug to anyone who could be onto him. Think about it, all he needs to do is mix up a powerful batch of his drug, and administer it to the person who found about him or her."

"Rick, come on, no one would not let themselves become compromised like that."

"Serena, think about it, he finds that someone that is close to finding out about him or LocSat then he would find a way to deal with them. Hey, it's easy to overpower a person and then inject them with his drug killing them. You've seen this result first hand. They die almost instantly. What's not to say that this guy is not a hit man of sorts for LocSat, all the while his street distribution sales cover his tracks."

"Rick look over there. The club is empty. The last employee just got into his car and drove away. How about we take a look around inside?"

"I'm not too sure. Let's just wait for a little just to make sure."

"Okay, Rick."

Thirty minutes' pass and they are more at ease with the fact that no one else has left the club since the last employee. They both get out of his car and walk over to the opposite corner. The front doors are locked so they decide to go around the back of the club to the freight delivery entrance. As they turn the corner the alley is gated. Luckily it's open and they swing the gate open and enter. They get to the delivery door and it's quiet. Too quiet. Rick suddenly feels that this is a mistake, but ignoring his feeling he sees Serena is quickly at work with her lock pic set trying to manipulate the door's lock. Less than five seconds she is looking up at him giving him a cunning look. She twists the knob and she is instantly drowned in darkness. There is no light either natural or luminescent. She takes a cautious step down and Rick follows behind her. Rick taps his flashlight app on his phone lighting the basement up with light. They walk deeper into the basement and come up to a steel door. Rick thinks that this is an odd place to put a door as it is embedded into the foundation, and it's thick and heavy looking. Serena raises an eyebrow towards him. Then they hear it. Voices. Coming from behind the closed door. Serena was just about to work her magic on the steel door's lock when they had no warning at all. Two men large men swung the door open.

Rick has just enough time to douse his light app and pocket his phone before they can see that they are there. As the door swings open to let them exit, he can make out that they are armed with handguns on their hips and each one has a Mac-10. They turn to close the door and the one guy sees them even in the darkness trying to make themselves small. He raises the Mac-10 and fires. Rick sensed the reaction and shoved Serena down to the floor. He dove to avoid being hit and in doing so he landed on Serena. Trying to get up after the gunfire had ceased he bolts headfirst into both of them and knocks them back into the wall. He was lucky that it was dark, it gave him the element of surprise. Stunned they both fell to the floor sliding down against the wall as they did. Rick has his hands out in front of him searching for Serena. He feels what he thinks is her leg. As he moves up he's right because he just reached her hip. Finding her arm he pulls her up to him and wraps her arm around his neck and moves back to the door they entered through. Kicking the door open, he is up the stairs and moving quickly to his car. Serena should be free to walk on her own so he releases his hold on her he expects her to keep walking but instead she drops straight to the ground. He stops and looks down and sees that she has been shot. Three bullet holes pepper her abdomen and lower chest. He hurriedly scoops her up and starts to run the rest of the way to his car. He has no idea what to do. He can't take her to a hospital, that will raise too many questions. He slides her into the passenger seat and buckles her in. He runs around to the driver's side and gets in. Just as he buckles up his phone rings. Pulling it out of his pocket he glances at the caller ID. It's Espo. He puts the car in drive and takes off, hoping the goons are still out of it.

He's glad that the Bluetooth connection has taken over and he can talk hands-free.

"Javi!" Rick answers.

"Castle, where are you? I have news."

"Javi, I'm in the middle of something right now can't it wait?"

"Rick, what's going on?" Javi asked not really wanting the answer.

"Serena and I were following up a lead at the club on 134th and Amsterdam. We went in to see if we could find anything to tie this club with LocSat. We were almost home free until all hell broke loose. Some goon shot at us. Serena was hit. I'm not too sure where to take her. She was hit, and it's bad Javi."

"Rick get her over to 207 East 106th street. Second-floor front suite. It's a medical suite."

"Got it Javi. I'll call you soon with an update and let you know what the situation is. Rick ends the call and drives like a fiend to get her to this place.


	21. Chapter 21

He is met with two guards as he pulls up, at least that's what he thinks they are. They get Serena to the suite and before the door even closes to the makeshift OR, the doctor is already at work assessing her wounds. The guard takes Rick to a small waiting area and he sits and waits. The waiting is going to kill him. He thinks back to when Kate was shot and his heart breaks a little more.

There is a disturbance in the hallway and he can definitely make out Esposito's voice. Getting up from the chair he walks to the hallway.

"Espo, what's going on?"

"Rick, listen this place is only temporary. You being here can lead whoever was after you to find you."

"I understand, but Javi she's still in surgery. I have only been given two updates by one of the guards. It's touch and go. The first two rounds were almost through and throughs. Luckily they missed anything important. The last round is imbedded close to her spine. The doctor thinks that it can be removed safely. So I'm going to wait. I'm the one who got her into this mess."

"RICK! Don't you ever think that's the case here. This is all because of your ex-wife's drive for justice. SHE'S the one who went rogue behind your back and started all this, without any thoughts of who this could hurt in the process NOT YOU! So spare me your damn honesty."

"Javi, you know that she's going to get herself killed. I can't let that happen. I still care about her."

"As do I, Rick. Bro, there are some things that we can sometimes stop from happening, and some things we can't. She won't see it from our eyes. It's like she's a one-man army. She has the help, but for some bizarre reason she decided not to let us in. She made us do what we're doing right now, doing this behind her back."

"I know. When you called me earlier, what was the news you had?"

"Oh yeah. I almost forgot. This morning Ryan was asked by Kate to look into Vikram's murder, if there was any report of him being found dead. She told him to look in the 25th's jurisdiction. I told him that if he found anything to call me first."

"Javi, what gives? We know that they were working together and now she wants to know if he's dead? Wouldn't she know this already?" Rick asks.

"Rick something is not right here. When we were in the loft the other night, Ryan ran his name and found that he has no history. This raises nothing but red flags in my mind. I think he's working both sides of the fence. If you ask me, when Ryan finds out what I think he'll find out, Vikram will be dead. But not the Vikram we know. I'm sure that the body will be a close match, but it won't be the real him."

"CIA?"

"That would be my guess. I'm going to give Lanie a call and have her go over dental and medical records when the body gets to the morgue. That should give us a good direction to go in once we have the confirmation."

Rick has a haunting thought. He looks at Espo and forms the thought into a picture in his mind. He still thinks and Espo knows what's going on inside that brilliant mind of his.

"What is it, Rick?"

"I'm thinking. Just give me a second."

Espo's cell rings and he pulls it from his holder. Checking the caller ID he sees that it's Ryan.

"Yo. What's up Ryan, what did you find out?"

"Well, she was right. A murder was reported and it happened in a warehouse that was conveniently burnt to the ground. The reason it had taken so long to report it was that the fire captain was only worried about putting out the fire. It wasn't until later when they went in to search room to room that they found the body. The body was found in a sort of makeshift squatter's haven. Identifying him will be tough. But he looks to be the same description as Vikram."

"Kev, make sure that Lanie gets this body that's a priority. I need a full work up on this guy's dental records. I have a feeling that it's not Vikram. And don't tell Beckett, at all!"

"Okay. Where are you?"

"Long story, but there have been some new devolvements. I'll be back within the hour, we'll talk then."

"Later."

Javi looks at Rick watching him end the call. He can tell the cogs are still turning in his head. So he waits. Without warning, Rick shares his thoughts.

"Javi, we need to contact my father. But, we are going to do this covertly. I am going to be wired. I'm going to need something undetectable by the most sophisticated bug sweepers. I think that there's a good chance that he's behind this whole mess. I also think that he has been ordered to feed Kate false leads to keep her chasing her tail. Keeping her busy so he can, god can't believe I'm actually going to say this, but I think he has started his own private enterprise."

As the idea hits his ears, Javi starts to shake his head back and forth. There's no way a top level CIA operative could pull off something like this and keep it hidden for how ever long it's been going on. What was his motive? Why did he risk the chance of being caught… unless he needs to answer to someone higher than him? Maybe a partner?

"Rick, that's way out there. And I've heard a lot of your theories. But, this one makes a lot of sense. He could keep Beckett so busy that she'd never suspect what he was doing. But what was his motive? Why did he even start doing this in the first place? There has to be a reason."

Rick voiced what Espo was thinking earlier.

"He has someone pulling his strings. Of all the people in the law enforcement community who hasn't Kate gone to?" Rick asks knowing that Espo will get his thought path.

He's silent for a minute, and then that light bulb goes off over his head.

"Don't you find it odd that he has a house in the nicest section of Brooklyn? He's married with a child, and he drives an expensive S class Mercedes? Or the fact that his wife drives a GLS Mercedes?"

"Sorenson!?"

"Bingo. We need to dig into him to see what he's been up to. Is it also a coincidence that all of a sudden he's back in town? He was assigned to Seattle two years ago. Why come back to New York now?"

The doctor interrupts the conversation and gives them an update on Serena.

"Gentlemen, the surgery is finished. It was a battle there for a while. As I told you earlier Mr. Castle, she was lucky. The two rounds that she took to the lower abdomen were did not hit any _vital_ organs. Nevertheless, the round that entered a little higher gave us the most trouble. I'm sure that she will not lose the ability to walk. The bullet had fragmented and missed the nerves associated with her spine. I'll run more tests later when she's more alert. I'm not making any promises."

Rick is worried about the word he paid attention to as the doctor gave them the update. _Vital._

"So doctor, what aren't you telling us?"

"I was truthful in my post op update. The rounds did not hit anything vital. However, she will no longer be able to have children. One of the rounds tore through her uterus, and due to the amount of damage we needed to remove both the uterus and the cervix. There might be a chance that she can still conceive a child, but she won't be able to carry it to term. My apologies to you both."

Rick just stares at Espo.

"That's just great," Rick says sarcastically.

Espo just nods as the doctor walks away.

"Excuse me doctor one more request. When can she be moved?" Rick wants to know.

"Giver the extent of her injuries, I'd say if she had to be moved, sometime tomorrow afternoon would be a safe bet. And after the tests I need to run are complete. Say around 4 pm."

"Thank-you doctor."

"Javi, can you head back to the 12th and find out about Sorenson's last two years in Seattle? And dig into him. I mean be relentless. I am going to stop by and talk to Lanie and see what she has found. I'm also going to look into Sorenson where you can't."

"Rick are you sure that's a good idea? I mean he'll know someone will be looking into his history with me snooping around, but if he gets word that it's being done by shady sources…"

"Javi, leave that worry to me. I'll be fine. Now go. I'll call you with what I get from Lanie."

"Be safe, Rick."

"You do the same detective."

They both leave to find out what they can about the FBI agent.


	22. Chapter 22

As it turns out with a little bit of money to throw around, you can buy the best high quality ultrasonic, inductive and light modulated listening device. It can easily send sound clearly through any material and be recorded by the wireless recording device. And it's totally undetectable to every bug sweeper known to man. The LED light in Rick's camera would act as the transmitter. Even if it was taken from him the phone would still pick up everything that was said within a 100-foot diameter. Esposito watched as Rick tried it out. He activated the phone and spoke a few words. Listening to the playback quality both men nodded and agreed that this was money well spent.

Now for the hard part. He swiped his cell and dialed a number his father had once given him to use in case of an emergency. Dialing the number, he waited for it to connect. Three rings and he heard his father's voice.

"What!"

"Dad?"

"Richard, what do you want? I am a bit busy right now."

"We need to talk about LocSat. Meet me at the park. Use the third bench from the swings."

"No you listen to me, I call the shots here! Not you. You meet me at 73 Madison Street apartment 2 C near Chinatown at 7 pm." Then the line went dead and Espo looked up to Rick smiling.

"Well, I can't believe he fell for the oldest trick in the book. I wonder what else we can get him to agree to. Maybe he's not as smart as we thought."

"Javi, that's my dad you're talking about!" Rick says with a wide smile.

"I know."

Xx

Rick got out of his car not knowing what to expect. He at least thought his father would be more compassionate towards him but since he only met him a handful of times he knew this meet would be all business.

He knocks on the apartment door and it swings open a few seconds later. His father gestures him to enter and he does. Stopping him with his hand from moving any further in he takes a bug sweeper and proceeds to thoroughly peruse every possible part of his body that could hide a bug. Coming up empty he asked him for his cell phone which he gives him easily. They walk over to a set of chairs and as they do Hunt deposits the phone in the waiting sink of water. They sit and even with the phone in the water Rick is not worried one bit.

Javi listens as the device which is obviously in the water picks up everything being said clearly. Waterproof phones…who'd have thought?

"So dad, what's going on?" Rick starts with this line of questioning hoping to get a straight answer.

"Richard, what are you talking about? I'm currently working on a possible threat involving the life of the ambassador from Saudi Arabia."

"So that's what you're going with? Something along the lines of a domestic threat? We both know that the CIA is prohibited from doing anything in the U.S. so save me the bullshit story. I want to know what you're into and for how long."

"I'm not sure what you are talking about… son." Hunt gave Rick a smirk.

"So you that's how you want to play it?"

"Again son, there's nothing going on here."

"Okay, so I'll go up to Harlem and do some more digging around myself. I know that whoever LocSat is or what they are that's the base of their U.S. operations. Heroin is being distributed out of there around the clock by the kilo. PEOPLE ARE DYING DAD!" So either come clean with me now or pay the price later."

"Promises. Promises. Come on Richard, you seriously?"

"This is not a promise on my part, consider this a threat. I will take down LocSat and I will see you suffer a horrible death at my hand. So father you've had your chance it's too bad you didn't use it to your advantage because I can play the game just a little better than you think and I'm not that forgiving."

Hunt's face pales a little, but as he rethinks what his son just told him his stoic look returns to his face masking his anxiety. His son retrieves his cell phone from the sink and heads to the door. As he reaches for the door knob he has one parting statement.

"Oh, and by the way father, say hello to Rita for me." Without waiting for his father's response he continued. "It'd be a shame if she had some sort of unfortunate accident one day, wouldn't it?"

The door slams and Hunt is shocked. Yeah shocked. His son was a force that he had not considered when he decided to get in as deep as he was. What else didn't he know about his own son? Not really believing that his threat was credible he dials his wife's cell. It rings about ten times with no answer. He thinks about his next move and after five minutes he tries her number again. Still it goes directly to voice mail….

Xx

Will Sorenson could see his house of cards falling apart. It was just a matter of time before the feds and the detectives from the 12th realized his role in this and put the pieces together. He had excused himself earlier this morning telling his wife there had been a kidnapping and he had to go to the scene. He really went to Harlem to figure out how someone got close enough to his operation to gather some information. His guards were not up to the standards he had used in other cities, but for the money he was paying them what did he expect. Talking to the guard who shot at the people who infiltrated his club he found out that they knew very little. Due to the fact that the male had slammed them both into the wall knocking one of them out. They did still wound the female.

He searched the area hospitals for a female gunshot patient but to no avail. Whoever was wounded had friends in high places. Then he remembered the call from his wife. Captain Beckett had paid him a visit. Maybe it was time to return the favor. He could use the kidnapping excuse to go see her. Yeah, that's the plan.

Xx

Spinning her wheels. That's all she'd been accomplishing since she left Rick. She thought for sure she would be so much further that where she was now. Things needed to change. After not being able to get a hold of Will she was thinking that maybe she should admit defeat then came the knock on her door.

"Hey Will, come in. Have a seat. What brings you around?"

"Hey, Kate. So, I hear that you were looking for me earlier." Will says as he changes the subject.

"I was. I'm looking for some information."

"Oh, what do you need?"

"Well, you know maybe it's better if I did not involve you in this right now…." Kate's cell rings and she's quick to answer it.

"Hello."

 _"Kate are you alone?"_

"No, who is this?"

 _"For now, that's not important. Is Sorenson with you? A simple yes or no will do."_

"Yes."

 _"In that case inform Agent Sorenson that you've caught a new murder. Since you are the only detective there you need to leave. Go to the address I am going to text to you within the next half hour. Say thank-you dispatch_."

"Thank-you dispatch?" But the caller was not there.

"Problem?" Will asked.

"Yeah, a new case. Since we are undermanned I need to go and look into it. Raincheck?"

"Sure Kate. I'll check in later." Will was already up and heading for the door.

"Bye Will."

He knew something was up. He'd just have to wait for the right time...


	23. Chapter 23

Sorenson needed to tie up all his loose ends. He needed to start with the Captain of the twelfth and he had just the method to accomplish it. He would then take out her detectives first and then her ex-husband. He would eliminate her last and show her that this is what she gets for trying to take him down. His street informants had come to him with nothing about the woman who was shot at his club. He knew that she had more than likely went underground to get treatment if she lived at all. He needed to contact Hunt now.

Hunt was still trying to get a hold of his wife. He was still not getting an answer. Between calls, he thought about his son's threat. He could never pull this off. He's a writer for Christ's sake! He had no skill set in black ops at all. He tried her number one last time before he left to find her. Still straight to her voicemail. He grabbed his Beretta, holstered it and left the house. He would find out where she was last and track her down.

Xx

Rick looked at Espo when Rita's phone chimed once again with yet another call from her husband.

"Well, he's persistent, I'll give him that! Rick said.

"Rick, what are we going to do? We need to take out Sorenson and end this. Should we bring in Kate?"

"Javi, I have the feeling he's in deeper than Sorenson. We just stick to the plan. Hunt tried to kill my wife! He's not going to be able to live that one down, not while I'm still alive anyway."

"Rick, don't you mean your ex-wife?"

"Potato, patato. Listen I know that you and Kate really don't see eye to eye on just about everything. But tell me why the change of heart all of a sudden?"

"I was never one to request help. I thought I could take on any situation and come out the victor. So after seeing what Kate has gone through for her AG team, her mother's death, and then your divorce it made it seem that she is a lot like me. Rick, all she wanted to do was find the justice that these people deserved. It's a shame that in the process of doing this she fell into something that she can't get out from under."

"Javi, I'll consider bringing her in, only if we can break my step-mother over there." Rick points to Rita who's currently tied up sitting on a chair. "Since I know my father he'll do something stupid. So I have a feeling that we'll be seeing Kate sooner than we think."

"Yeah, good luck with that! Wait what do you mean?"

Rick mumbles something he can't quite make out as he walks over to Rita and removes the gag from her mouth.

"Rita, let's me and you have a little chat shall we?"

"I'm not saying a word! You will never make it out of this hell hole alive!" Rita responded passionately.

"Yeah, I figured that I'd get that much from you. But you see I have learned a thing or two about my father, your husband. Once someone who he cares about is in danger his guard drops and he makes mistakes. He might think that he's covering his tracks, but with the breadcrumbs I've left him he'll easily forget protocol and he will slip up. So no I have no intention of leaving this hellhole until either he's dead or you are or both, which is most likely the way this will go. That's the end game here. The two of you have been getting rich at the cost of so many lives. It ends here and now."

"You heartless bastard!" Rita spouted.

"Rita, really? Baiting me with a simple tactic like that? Let me tell you something, you and my father crossed a line when you tried to kill my wife. It's actually sad because when I shoot to kill, I rarely miss. So Heartless bastard? Yeah, I can live with that. Just as long as they take you out of here in a body bag.

Rita looked all around and what she observed was that where she was, was barren. There was nothing that had to be removed from this space. This chilled her even more because if he did kill her and Hunt it'd be a while before anyone found them.

"Rick, he's on the move."

"Track him and make sure we know where we think he's going."

"On it!" Espo says.

Rita looks at Rick with a scowl. She knows that her husband will not survive the encounter with his son. She was foolish to dismiss him from this equation. He was a nobody. Just a mystery writer. If there was a next time, she'd be more careful with all the players in this game.

Xx

Sorenson was not able to get a hold of Hunt. He'd been sitting in front of detective Ryan's home for the last half hour just watching. He would break his cover if the opportunity presented itself, but for now, this was just a recon op. Ryan was predictable if anything. Up early and worked late. Two kids and his wife he thought to himself. If he couldn't get Ryan alone to eliminate him, he could always use his wife and kids as leverage. He had hired a surveillance team to keep him up to date on the captain and detective Esposito. They had no luck with the detective, but they had eyes on the captain. Her ex seemed to be elusive as well. He was nowhere to be found. He was interrupted by the ringing of his phone. It was the team he had on the captain.

"What do you have?"

"Boss, it's the strangest thing I've ever seen." The caller said as he kept looking through his binoculars.

"What's going on?" Sorenson demanded.

"A spook has just walked out of the captain's house with her thrown over his shoulder. No concern for who might see him. We never noticed him going into her place. He just walked to his car and stuck her in the trunk."

"Did she fight him?"

"She was out. He must have drugged her."

"Describe him to me."

"I'd say about 6' 2", 185, Grey hair, with a goatee. This guy was built. He was definitely from a three letter agency."

"Keep an eye on him. I want to know where he goes. Tail him and call me when he gets to his new location."

"Will do, boss."

The call ended and now Sorenson was thinking the worst. Either Hunt was trying to beat him at his own game or he had way too many other irons in the fire. Either of which he would need to deal with. Sorenson noticed that detective Ryan was not leaving anytime soon. So he waited five more minutes and then left.

Ryan noticed the car that was parked on the street four houses down as he was just about to leave this morning. Seeing the car with one occupant in it, he went upstairs to his daughter's room and observed. After about an hour the car left and he wrote down the plate number and called Rick.

"Castle."

"Rick it's Ryan. I need you to run a plate for me. Dark red Lincoln. New York plate number WHI-9937."

"What's going on Kev?" Rick asked.

"Whoever this is was, was just casing my house. He left about 5 minutes ago."

"Ryan don't hang up, I'll have Javi run that plate right now."

Javi runs the plate number and it comes back as being owned by a company in Albany, NY. But it's a Chevy Malibu, not a Lincoln."

"Kev, come directly here! Make sure that your family is safe first then get your ass over here."

"Okay, Rick. Give me about 20."


	24. Chapter 24

As Sorenson drove the thought that his empire was now at its end was slowly coming true. Sure he made tons of money and he should have left when he was in no way of being caught but the cash was irresistible. If he was lucky he'd get away with his life. He called his contact that was following Hunt.

"Has he stopped yet?" He asked.

"He's pulling up to a house in Brooklyn."

"Keep an eye on him until I get there."

The call ends and Sorenson changes direction and heads to the Brooklyn address. His thug finds a spot to park out of the way, but still be able to keep an eye on things. Five minutes later a car pulls up and out comes a shorter Irish looking man. He heads into the house.

"Rick, I'm here." Ryan states.

"Any problems?" Javi asked."

"No pretty much smooth after I brought Jenny and the kids to her mothers in White Plains."

"Good. We're expecting company soon, and you need to be ready for it."

"Got it!" Kevin replies.

As Kevin moves to the gun safe he sees Rita tied up on the chair and gives her a look. He wonders what Rick will do next, but whatever it is it won't end well.

Xx

The thug wonders why Hunt has not left his car yet. He noticed the other car pull up and the man enter the house. No sooner than he finished that thought he sees the door open to Hunt's car and he gets out and walked to the trunk of the car. Hesitates a second listening he thinks then pops open the trunk. He is met with a kick to the abdomen from which he quickly recovers. She's a fighter, he'll give her that. Reaching in to grab her he again throws her over his shoulder not caring who sees him. She strides to the house with his quarry kicking and hitting him as he walks. Kicking the front door open he enters the house.

"It sounds like we have company, Javi." Rick says.

Javi checks the hallway cameras and sees Hunt with Kate thrown over his shoulder. Knowing that he wants to make an exchange for his wife he tells Rick what he sees.

"Alright. Nothing changes we stick to the plan. He's a part of this and we will take him down. I only wish we had Sorenson as well."

Javi switches feeds to the street camera and notices a Lincoln pull up and park. He checks the plate number and realizes that it's the same plate he ran earlier. Watching intently, he zooms in on the driver getting out.

"Rick, you just might get your wish. He just pulled up."

"Thanks, Javi. Get Ryan and yourself into position, now!"

He does and gets Ryan to do the same. Ryan is next to Rita with his weapon drawn alongside Rita's head. Javi is next to the door on the opposite side of the swing so he will be able to ambush Hunt as he enters also with his weapon at the ready. Seconds later the door is kicked in and the plan commences. Hunt enters and Kate is over his left shoulder. Javi quickly raises his gun to Hunt's temple, stopping him dead in his tracks. Ryan does the same to Rita but adds one more threat by pulling back the hammer, cocking his gun ready to fire.

"So this is what it's come down to, right son?" Hunt says as he sees his wife being threatened.

"Don't look so surprised dad. You greatly underestimated my resources. Why don't you take a couple more steps in and relieve yourself of your cargo? Put her on the couch, very, very slowly. Because very shortly we will have the person who's pulling your strings join us."

When Hunt does this Rick approaches him and relieves him of his weapon. Hunt wonders how his son got the upper hand in all this. As he stands there he takes in the sight of his wife vowing to get her out of this alive. Kate is still bound and has duct tape across her mouth. Rick walks over and tells her that what he will do next will probably not be pleasant. He takes the loose end of the tape and gives it a swift pull. Biting her tongue from the pain she looks up to him and thanks him with her eyes. It's then when three shots blast through the door.

Xx

Sorenson knew what was on the other side of the door. Instead of charging in he decided to fire into the other side expecting an ambush. He pushed open the door and noticed that each round he fired missed hitting anything. Stunned he raised his gun to eliminate Hunt. Rick had other plans. He wanted this to end and with as little bloodshed as possible. Sorenson had no intention to be taken in alive. What happened next happened way to fast. Within the blink of an eye, Hunt reached for his ankle holster and drew his backup weapon. By the time he was in a position to use it, Sorenson had fired two shots at him. One missed and the other caught Hunt in the chest. Stunned and with blood oozing from his wound he raised his gun and fired all six shots. Five hitting Sorenson center mass one went wide left missing Javi by inches.

As Sorenson dropped to his knees he looked at Hunt and asked him "How?" Then he fell forward and bled out. Rick watched as Hunt fell back into the chair next to his wife. Being a little distraught of the events that had taken place, he walked up to his dad. Ryan was applying pressure to his chest wound and when Rick looked up to him he sadly shook his head no. His father was dying and Rick needed to know what his role in LOCSAT was exactly.

"Dad, what was your role in LOCSAT?"

"I was Sorenson's partner in it. We imported drugs from overseas and distributed them all over the US. We also had a mercenary team or rather an assassination squad that tied up our loose ends for us. I am ashamed to say this, but your ex-wife was one of their targets."

"WHY?" Rick yelled.

"It's simple son. She was sticking her nose into things where it did not belong. Sorenson gave the order to have her dealt with."

"Rescind it NOW!"

"It's already done. One of my last hurrah's you could say."

"So, she's in the clear?" Rick wanted this confirmed before his father died.

"She is, as long as she does not let her need for justice cloud her better judgment."

Javi, seeing that Sorenson was no longer a threat walked over to Rita to cut her loose from the chair so she could be with her husband before he died. What happened next was something he should have seen. Rita leaped from the chair and dove to the floor retrieving her husband's gun that dropped to the floor after he was shot. Sitting up she trained the gun on Rick. Seeing this right away he could only stand there as not to involve anyone else in the line of fire.

"Rita, drop the gun! Hunt yelled as he hacked a cough.

"NO! Rick is the one who needs to die. He caused all this!"

"This ends here. It's over. We're done. Now drop the gun." Hunt demanded.

Rita, not one to let this go so easily pulled the trigger. Rick closed his eyes and feared the worst would happen. Kate yelled his name out when the shot was fired. At first, he felt like he'd been stung by a bee. It was not until about 15 seconds later the searing pain started to take over. As he stumbled to the chair Rita had just vacated, Rita turned and aimed the gun at Kate sitting on the couch. As she raised her gun four shots rang out. With an ascetic look on her face, she gazed down to see the four holes that peppered her body. As the color from her face started to drain away she keeled over falling straight down on her face.

Javi being the closest kicked the gun away from her motionless hand.

"Espo, untie me now!" Kate said.

After freeing her she bolted towards Rick. Kneeling down in front of him she took in his wound. Doing what she was trained to do, she applied pressure to the wound.

"Ryan, call a bus NOW!" Kate screamed. She was not going to lose him to this. Ryan called and told her the bus was about 15 minutes out.

"Well, it looks like your free of this mess now, Kate." Rick said.

"Shhh Rick, don't talk. Conserve your energy. You can't leave me! I need you, I love you!"

Xx

Six months had gone by since that day. The day she almost lost the one person she loved more than life itself. They had gone through hell for the first two months as Rick was recovering from his gunshot wound. Then there was the therapy to get him back to leading a somewhat normal life. She never left his side during the whole process. The toll they paid in human life was one she'd never forget. Rita and Will died on that day. Ricks father hung on for three days after he was shot, but he had died due to his body not being able to fight off an infection.

Then one day they had sat down and talked about their future. He had given her an ultimatum. If she ever wanted to be in his life again, she would have to resign from the NYPD. He understood that she needed to do her job, but if she wanted to be with him this would be one subject he'd not cave in on. He suggested that she go back to school, pick up where she left off when she was younger. Become a lawyer, or just about anything else she wanted. Money was not an issue.

This is where she is now. Sitting across from her father standing at a diner. She had asked him there for his thoughts about what Rick wanted from her.

"Katie, the end result is that if you want to be involved in his world, and this is really what you want, then you will need to concede to what he wants. Is that what you want?"

"I don't know dad."

"Well, then it looks like you have some things to think about. I'd like to help, but this is a decision that you will need to make it on your own." Jim gets up and leaves knowing that she needs space.

After thinking for the last couple of days she came to the decision that would shatter him. Policing was her life. It was something that she could never stop doing. Being able to find justice for others was the reward in itself. More than drawing a paycheck….

So she would agree to his demands and hoped that they could start fresh...again.


End file.
